导读:自改革开放以来，中国人对于性似乎持有了更为开放的态度。在《欢乐颂》热播后，人们就“处”这个话题再次进行了争论。
He asked me whether I am a virgin, says Qiu Yingying, bursting into tears.
邱莹莹哭着说道：“他问我，我是不是处女。”
She has just found out her relationship with boyfriend Ying Qin is over, after he found out she had had sex in the past.
在她的男朋友应勤发现她曾和别人发生过性关系后，他俩的关系就告吹了。
The scene from China’s biggest soap opera right now, Ode to Joy, has triggered much discussion on whether virginity is still a prized asset for women in modern China.
这一场景取自中国当前规模最大的肥皂剧《欢乐颂》，它引发了热议——在现代中国，处子之身是否仍是女性最为重要的一个资产。
Ode to Joy, now in its second season, tells the stories of five beautiful women from different walks of life who live in the same floor of an apartment complex in Shanghai.
《欢乐颂》目前正在热播第二季，它讲述了五个来自各行各业漂亮女性的故事，她们生活在上海一栋公寓大楼的同一楼层。
The show, a less risque version of Sex and the City, is popular among women for its focus on romance, careers, friendships and the difficulties women face in the big city.
《欢乐颂》是一个讲述性与都市的不那么伤风败俗的电视剧，它因聚焦于爱情、事业、友谊以及女性在大城市面临的困难而受到了女性的热捧。
Out-of-dated topic
“过时的话题”
Sex education in China is often poor. There are stories of male biology teachers skipping details of the female reproductive system in class and ask students to learn it by themselves.
在中国，性教育十分缺失。据报道，有男性生物老师在课堂上跳过女性生殖系统的细节，并要求学生自学。
And parents very rarely share information about sex with their children.
家长也极少跟他们的孩子分享有关性的信息。
What almost all parents do, however, is to warn their daughters not to have any dates before they graduate from university, fearing that they get hurt or become pregnant.
然而，几乎所有家长都警告他们的女儿在大学毕业前不要约会，他们害怕孩子受到伤害或者是怀孕。
Chinese communities also traditionally expect chastity before marriage.
中国社会在传统上也期望婚前贞洁。
That means TV dramas are very influential in shaping audiences’ values. They are windows for young audiences, especially young women, to understand sex and sexuality and the ways views are changing.
这就意味着，电视剧对于塑造观众价值观影响力巨大。它们是年轻观众，尤其是年轻女性，了解性和性行为的窗口，他们的观念也在转变。
Double standards on virginity
处女双标
Zi Yin, a Shanghai-based film assistant producer, told the BBC that even debating the topic was old-fashioned in the 21st Century. She thought it was "disgusting" for the show to make an issue of it.
上海电影助理制片人紫银（音）向BBC表示，在21世纪关于这一话题的讨论已经过时。她认为，《欢乐颂》拿此搞事情“十分恶心”。
In modern cities, women are more independent and liberated, she said.
她说道，在现代都市里，女性更加独立和解放。
The virginity issue doesn’t trouble those well-educated women in China’s big cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen, she told the BBC.
她向BBC指出：“处女问题并未困扰生活在上海、深圳这类中国大城市之中受过良好教育的女性。”
But not everyone agrees the virginity debate is over.
但是，并不是每个人都同意处女辩论已经过时。
One of Ode to Joy’s female fans, Ziye Pei, told the BBC it was perfectly reasonable for a boyfriend who was a virgin himself to require his girlfriend to be so.
《欢乐颂》的一个女粉丝裴子野（音）向BBC表示，处男要求其女朋友是处女十分合理。
The issue was also being discussed by her university classmates in a social media group chat on China’s Twitter-like site, WeChat.
她的大学同学还在中国推特之微信上的一个社交媒体群里讨论了此事。
Someone questioned why there wasn’t gender equality when it came to chastity, but another said she couldn’t accept Ying Qin’s comment on women who had sex before marriage.
一些人在谈到贞洁时质问为何没有性别平等，但是另有人说道，她无法接受应勤对于发生婚前性行为女性发表的言论。
In the show, Qiu Yingying’s friends rally around to comfort her, encouraging her to have hope in the broken relationship.
在剧中，邱莹莹的朋友都过来安慰她，鼓励她在分手后要心有希望。
It remains to be seen whether Ying Qin will have a change of heart and take her back, or whether she decides she’s better off without him.
应勤是否回心转意，邱莹莹是否决定没有应勤会过得更好仍有待观望。
