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Virtue school for men: big city push to make Chinese men better fathers and partners after backlash against courses teaching women to be obedient
- Training courses by Beijing sexologist will first target men in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chengdu
- Earlier virtue classes for women preaching subservience to men triggered widespread anger
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Mandy Zuoin Shanghai
A sexologist in China posed an intriguing question to an online seminar for students over the weekend.
“It is out of kindness to spare women from some tiring work such as mining and night shifts. It shouldn’t be considered as inequality, should it?” asked Fang Gang, a Beijing-based sexologist and sociologist.
It was part of a course training instructors for his “male virtue” classes to be held in three major cities in China next year.
The move comes several years after “female virtue” schools teaching women to obey men emerged in the country, triggering anger.
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Fang, a well-known gender equality advocate, has launched a non-profit programme which practises just the opposite – teaching men to be better partners and fathers.
While the previous women’s morality courses taught women traditional virtues and told them to focus on family and accept menial work, Fang’s “male virtue” classes aim to tackle stereotypes and promote male family involvement and social responsibility, he said.
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“Many men have shown interest as they see this as a way to improve their marriage and their relationship with their children,” said Fang.
This comes amid growing public awareness about gender equality in recent years.
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