Disparities Between China And Cultural, Historical...

Emily Truong Honors Thesis 12/16/15 Interconnections between Population Policies in China and Cultural, Historical Perceptions regarding Sexuality, Reproduction, and Health Introduction In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Chinese government put in place the One Child Policy in order to limit the majority of families to one child each and reduce China’s population growth rate. In reality, China’s One Child Policy consisted of many one child policies, which were generally better implemented and stricter in urban areas than in rural areas. Variations of the general one child policy included allowing the rural families in some areas, families of some ethnic minority groups, families with handicapped firstborn children, and families with†¦show more content†¦(100) Because of the sharp drop in fertility rates and rise in longevity since 1980, elderly people currently constitute a large, growing proportion of China’s population. In addition to these demographic transformations, the human consequences of China’s population policies are widespread. Women forced to undergo abortions and/or sterilizations suffer from emotional trauma, wh ereas non-firstborn children are undocumented and legally unrecognized by society, lacking access to education, public services, and employment. In accordance with the goals of state population policies, China’s fertility and birth rates after 1980 have drastically dropped, yet the unforeseen consequences of these population policies will continue to affect China for many years to come. Many scholars have researched China’s population policies and its consequences. The health effects from sterilizations and forced abortions have been well-investigated.1 The mental health of the first versus second and third children has also been compared in multiple studies.2 In Just One Child, Susan Greenhalgh argues that a lack of scientific judgment and input gave rise to the One Child Policy. However, there is a lack of research into the cultural determinants leading to the development of China’s population policies and the effects that state population policies have had on ideas about sexuality and sexual health in China. In this thesis,