A sex education textbook issued to high schools in China's Jiangxi Province has called girls who have premarital sex cheap, triggering a public debate of gender inequality.
"Premarital sex has a tremendous negative psychological and physical impact on girls. Girls do not increase the love they receive from boys by sacrificing their bodies, but rather are seen as 'degraded' by their 'conquerors," the book says, and adds, "As a result, sexual relations can cause women to lose love."
The 21st Century Publishing Group said the wording is not insulting to women and pointed out that words like "degraded" appear in quotes.
A total of 2,000 copies of the book have been issued to high school seniors in Jiangxi since 2004.
Local co-publisher Jiangxi Higher Education Press claimed they stopped issuing the book in 2006.
Both publishers vowed to "make appropriate edits," the Legal Mirror reports.