searching for sex

by lina peng

Within the hormone raging confines of a college campus, the air is alive with the smell of sex wherever you turn. Little surprise that the Asian American collegiate population, often statistically dubbed as the least sex savvy, must combat the the demeaning label. This is particularly true of Asian American males, who feel the need to constantly wage war against the diminishing claims of “asexuality” and, in everyday jargon, “no game.” Usually, the battle plan involves lying profusely about the number of sexual partners (“twenty” or so is really two), sticking their tongue down anyone or anything that has a pulse, and befriending alcohol in hopes that it will compromise judgment long enough to get some pants unzipped. It both is painful and pathetic. What is really going on down there? Why are we all so madly searching for sex?

Asian Americans have sex later, are more likely to be virgins, have the fewest number of lifetime partners, and feel guiltier about having sex compared to every other possible ethnicity. One 2005 study of Asian American college students show that about half of the sample (48.5%) have had sexual intercourse in their lifetime and a quarter (25.3%) in the previous 30 days: “significantly” low compared to other populations. Also significant, Asian Americans are less likely to have unwanted pregnancies or contract HIV and STDs. Can all this signal a victory for the popular Asian parent version of the sex talk: have no talk at all?

It makes sense that if Asian Americans have a relatively lower rate of sexuality, than they would have relatively lower rates of pregnancy and obtaining STDs as well. It can be hardly called a victory for a virgin to be HIV free. What is interesting though is what occurs after Asian Americans lose their virginity. National studies find that once Asian American youth engage in sexual intercourse, they rival other ethnic groups in unprotected sex, risky HIV behavior, number of partners, and drug and alcohol use. In a study among Asian American students in several Southern California colleges, only 11% reported consistent condom use. Asian Americans have also seen the largest increase in the number of HIV cases during the last five years, with a 38% increase between 1998 and 2002.

Additional evidence suggests that a lack of sexual education may lead to severe consequences. According a national study by AIDS Education and Prevention in 2004 Asian Americans adults showed the highest rate of late HIV intervention. There appears to be a pervasive tendency for Asian American girls and women to be more reluctant to seek care for their sexual and reproductive health, which can be not only emotionally crippling but potentially life threatening. Cases of sexual abuse and rape are also severely underreported.

The cultural norm surrounding conservative sexual behavior still has its positive effects. But given that there is a fifty-fifty chance that their collegiate son or daughter may be sexually active, perhaps Asian American parents should rethink the silent sex talk. And it is not just the overblamed Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa who suffer from lack of openness when it comes talking about sex: we all do. The younger generation of Asian Americans is caught between not wanting to be deemed dishonorable on one end and not wanting to feel undesirable on the other (because everyone else is doing it!). The result is often morally messy and emotionally unsatisfying. And so the search continues silently.

What does this tell us, the living, breathing young adults of these sex studies? Sleeping with the guy who claimed multiple sexual partners is not a smart idea. If you are a guy trying to get laid, appearing “over-sexed” is not attractive, unless your sweetie is attracted to STDs. It might be more worthwhile and effective to try to get in their hearts before their pants; you might even save some money on alcohol. In our presumed innocence and eagerness to prove our sexuality, we forget at our own peril that the risk of HIV and STDs may be more real than many of us would like to believe. If being less sexually active means being less at risk for STDs, then those statistics are something to be proud of. If having sex later means waiting until you find someone you love, then, well, there is nothing sexier than that. Everyone else can go screw themselves.

Sources:
Hahm, Hyeouk Chris, Maureen Lahiff, and Rose M. Barreto. “Asian American Adolescents’ First Sexual Intercourse: Gender and Acculturation Differences.” Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 38(1):(2006).
So, Dominicus W., Frank Y. Wong, and Jordana M. Deleon. “Sex, HIV Risks, and Substance Use Among Asian American College Students.” AIDS Education and Prevention 17(5),457-468:(2005)