Remember the days when living with your boyfriend caused a stir?

Feminist writer Jo Lee Wai-yee was sought for a media interview back in 1994, not for her outspoken sexual comments but for living with her boyfriend.

'I was a university student then and everyone knew I cohabited ... one day a Next magazine reporter came up to me and said they wanted to interview me as a cohabiting student,' Ms Lee recalls.

Back in those days, she says, living together was a controversial issue and parents reacted strongly when their grown-up children moved out and lived with someone they were not married to.

'I turned down the interview at that time, thinking there was no reason why I should disclose my private life to the magazine.

'But these days you couldn't imagine the article would be some sort of a front-page story. No one regards cohabitation as a debatable topic anymore - not even the parents.'

While living together may have become more acceptable, Ms Lee observes, the same cannot be said for other areas, with sensitive issues often still heavily judged from a moral perspective.

Citing the row over the Chinese University student magazine's sex survey, the 34-year-old says: 'Why did asking a question stir up so much reaction? They are only posing questions on people's sexual fantasies, not encouraging people to act them out.