“Durex 2004 Global Sex Survey showed the Chinese have the most per capita sexual partners as 19.3, while with the most gloomy sex ardour. Each Chinese has on averageÝ19.3Ýpartners toping the sex league tableÝwhereÝan worldwide averageÝnumber is just 10.5, according to the world’s biggest condom maker, Durex. It makes one doubt how the Chinese possess so affluent partners whileÝwith world lowÝsex drive, rankedÝthe last sevenÝinÝthe world, alsoÝrevealed theÝDurex survey. The condom maker dismisses suggestions that the survey samples may be unrepresentative or that some cultures could be prone to exaggeration, saying confidential Web polling encourages honesty… Admittedly, extramarital affairs and those before marriage in China are on the rise as the Chinese people have been influenced by the Western sex liberation concept and liberated from the traditional ethical code… Chinese view on sex arouses introspection among Westerners. Just not long ago, Western scientists praised Chinese traditional view on marriage, reckoning that prudent and responsible conception on family and marriage, and keeping loyal to sex, are conducive to preventing AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) from spreading and is worthwhile for people in the western world to learn.” —China Daily (China)

Naturally you have to set aside the awkward English of this piece, published in a Chinese newspaper. (Actually, the awkward English is kind of fun. The Chinese have sex “with the most gloomy sex ardour” — gloomy ardor? What’s that, a sort of Communist Goth? And how about this: “Chinese view on sex arouses introspection among Westerners.” Introspection? Like, when we read about how China’s “one baby” policy and traditional sexism causes new parents to abandon or even murder their baby girls, it causes us to sit and contemplate our twisted pornographic ways?)

Anyway, it’s peculiar to see a Chinese newspaper so puzzled by China’s Most Promiscuous Country status. There is a very easy explanation for the data. It was collected by a condom manufacturer. Does this mean that Durex purposely shaped or manipulated the data? No — but think about who would be likely to respond. First, there would be men who use condoms. And in a country with a “one baby” policy, what man doesn’t use condoms? Weirdly, maybe the procreation policy even encourages promiscuity: if birth control is widespread, it might dampen the fears of pregnancy and disease that typically discourage people from screwing with abandon.

And who else was likely to respond to the survey? Hookers. Hookers use a lot of condoms and they also sleep with a lot of people. So if hookers made up a decent percentage of the respondents to the survey, then it wouldn’t come as any surprise that on average the Chinese have a high number of sex partners. You could make the counter-argument that prostitutes of other nationalities probably responded to the survey, which would elevate the totals for every country. And yet — if the number of Asian Massage Parlors (AMPs) in any American city is any indication — it would not be illogical to guess that far more Chinese women work as prostitutes than do women of other nationalities.

(That would be a great subject for a sociological survey. Here in New York, if you scan the “escort” and “massage” ads in the papers, Asians — mostly Chinese and Korean — account for a good half of the services. Russians and Spanish account for about fifteen percent each, and the rest is just a grab bag.)

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