In Hong Kong, badminton is no longer just badminton. It’s also a sex symbol. And it’s all thanks to the Education Bureau, an organization that has gotten itself into a strange mess that’s causing a stir both locally and beyond China’s borders. The reason is simple: In an effort to improve youth sex education, Hong Kong authorities have created a guide on “intimate relationships,” which, among other things, encourages couples to curb their sexual desires by playing badminton.

The result: badminton is now a sport… and more.

“With love and kindness”The Hong Kong Education Authority has set itself the difficult task of promoting “continuous improvement” in the territory’s schools and institutes. To that end, the agency recently published a 70-page guide on “close relationships with love and manners” during adolescence.

Nothing remarkable or unusual so far. The document was chronicled on BBC and ABC News or published on the website New York Times That’s because of how they tackle the challenge with a set of guidelines that don’t take long to generate a range of reactions. Some call them retrogrades. And who finds them funny? Either way, one thing is clear: they’ve managed to make their mark on Hong Kong’s youth slang in record time.

Beware of ‘premarital sex’The guide is designed for students between the first and third grades of secondary school, typically between the ages of 12 and 15. The first page of the document states, “The module is not intended to encourage students to start dating or engage in sexual behavior at an early age,” and “Teachers are expected to help students develop an adequate understanding of love and responsible relationships.” Be alert to the consequences of inappropriate use of relationships.

From there, he details a roadmap that highlights a variety of messages for teachers and students. Whether it’s that “relationships can’t be based solely on sex,” the importance of “controlling” impulses, or the potential consequences of sleeping with someone before marriage. “Lovers who can’t cope with the consequences of premarital relationships, such as pregnancy outside of marriage, legal ramifications, and emotional distress, should absolutely refuse to continue them before marriage,” he stresses.

The versatility of badmintonIf there is one recommendation that has created excitement both inside China and abroad, it is the special role that Hong Kong authorities have given to badminton. So much so that the local newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP) published an article a few days ago with the rather telling title: “Is badminton the answer to Hong Kong schoolchildren’s sexual urges?” It may sound strange or exaggerated, but the question is much better understood with the guide in hand.

In one example they give, experts from the Department of Education recommend that young people go to a sports centre, pick up a pair of rackets and a shuttlecock and start playing badminton for a while to suppress their sexual urges.

“My Commitment” form in the Education Department manual.

“What would you do?” Not just theoretical, the document presents a hypothetical scenario in which two young people, young Tsz Ching and young Sau Lai, study alone at home on a hot summer day.

“Ching takes off his jacket and is left with his sleeveless shirt, and hugs Lai’s shoulder. He gets excited, he has a physiological reaction. If you were Lai, if this was the case, what would you do before the manual misses it?” Young people are at risk of “pregnancy out of wedlock.” The text also reminds us that the law prohibits relationships with children under the age of 16.

How to confront the situation: “For example, go play badminton together at the gym,” experts suggest in a Department for Education document, which is open to “other reasonable responses” that are equally valid.

“Leave the scene”In another scenario the authors came up with, the same couple, Sau Lai and Tsz Ching, encounter a couple having intimate relations in the bushes of a park after dinner. In this case, they are given equally categorical advice: “Leave the scene immediately” and “enjoy the flowers, trees and night view in the park.”

It is better to sign a contract. The badminton advice is perhaps the most curious in the guide, but it is not the only one that comes as a surprise. Another, equally striking, is that couples sign a contract at the beginning of their courtship to address the red lines. “Communicate honestly about what is acceptable in terms of intimacy, set clear boundaries and that each other’s desires and feelings are important and that going beyond that is unacceptable,” the document advises.

It doesn’t stop there. There’s even a copy of the “intimacy limit commitment form” with blank fields for couples to fill out.

On pornography and “sexy” clothing“I pledge to cultivate self-discipline, self-control, and resistance to pornography, and to understand that my ‘Commitment’ is an expression of self-love and respect for the other person that will help create a healthier relationship,” the form states. Another section of the guide suggests that one should choose to dress “appropriately” and “avoid visual stimulation of sexy clothing” to avoid “sexual urges.” One alternative the authors suggest is to “avoid excessive physical contact, such as touching and kissing.”

“Outside of reality”It didn’t take long for criticism of the guide to come in. South China Morning Post Some are collected by people who consider at least some of its guidelines to be completely “unrealistic,” even questioning why the text generally condemns premarital sex rather than teaching young people to respect themselves and face intimate relationships responsibly.

The badminton implications created so many surprises SCMP He assures that there are now jokes on the networks that “going to play badminton” is now synonymous with “Netflix and chilling out” and is a euphemism for having sex.

“They joke a lot”. It didn’t take long for the jokes to come. And they’ve become so common that one regular badminton player recently admitted to the BBC that encouraging someone to practice has taken on new nuances. “In the past it was just a healthy sport but now when you ask people to play badminton they make a lot of jokes.” “Friends with benefits? Badminton friends,” one young man joked on Instagram, for example.

The Department for Education defends its approach against those who see the guidelines as “out of line”, unrealistic or even reactionary. “The aim of sex education in the school curriculum is to develop students into people with comprehensive values ​​and to enable them to make informed and responsible decisions on sexual matters when their thoughts and circumstances mature in the future,” it argues.

Image | Ming-yen Hsu (Flickr) 1 and 2 and Education Bureau

In Xataka | Orgasm is the explosion of sexual pleasure. This historical medical case came with another surprise