Discussions of sexual diversity in Canada almost always focus on the question of gay rights and same-sex marriage. These discussions, important though they are, tend to crowd out the voices of Canada’s ethnic minorities whose cultures and civilizations often have radically different understandings of gender and sexuality. Sexual diversity is not just about gender and biology, but about culture and even spirituality.

Following on the from this week’s Pride celebrations in Toronto, residents of the GTA have a unique opportunity to see an exhibition of Ancient Chinese Sexual Relics which are on display in the Delta Chelsea Hotel’s Churchill Ballroom, from June 28 to July 5. Organized by the Toronto Sex Museum, the exhibition displays for the first time in North America artifacts from collections in China and elsewhere. They reveal a fascinating approach to sexuality that has, until now, been hidden from outside view.

They reveal that the history of Chinese attitudes towards sexuality differs radically from the West. In the West, sex has traditionally been connected to erotic pleasure, and has all too often been looked down upon by religious authorities. For the young Saint Augustine, sexual pleasure was the chief obstacle that kept him from finding God. But investigations into Chinese ideas about sexuality reveal a completely different picture.

As the exhibition demonstrates, China has a long history of connecting sexual energy to spirituality. Indeed, the cultivation of sexual energy lies at the heart of a range of “sexual yoga” or “bedroom arts” that have been developed in China for over two thousand years. In ancient China, sexual potency was connected with the quest for immortality. Practiced in the right way, sexual intercourse could help avoid health problems and even lengthen one’s life.

These physical practices were even refined by Taoist monks into meditative practices thought to assist in the cultivation of the body and the spirit. Sexual energy, the foundation of the vital processes of the body, was not understood so much in terms of erotic desire, but in terms of its spiritual and life-enhancing properties. In meditation the monk or nun is able to guide and refine sexual energy and transform it into a kind of spiritual energy.

China’s rich sexual culture is, however, not well known or understood even in China. Confucian values required sexual matters to be kept private rather than being celebrated publicly. Homosexuality, for instance, was widely tolerated in China but never became an item of “pride” as is the case in modern Western sexual politics. Gay men and women were expected to keep their feelings hidden from public view. Those with wealth and power were able to have gay lovers, provided that these didi not interfere with their family obligations.

Contemporary China is currently experiencing a sexual openness that is resulting in both positive and negative social aspects. Homosexuality is no longer forbidden, and China’s cities have a gay nightlife that is every bit as vibrant as major North American cities. Along with this new-found sexual openness, however, has come the proliferation of prostitution in the form of KTV (karaoke) bars with private rooms staffed by escorts. This has become such a problem that the government has recently had to crack down on officials who use these establishments for the purposes of entertainment. The purchasing of sexual services by government officials is now strictly forbidden in China, which serves only to indicate how much of a problem this had become.

Another less well known problem in China is that of China’s “homowives”, or women married to gay men. Chinese sociologist Li Yinhe wrote a recent blog article about a forum she attended to discuss their plight. She writes: “The condition for homowives is extremely tragic. At the seminar, there were homowives who burst into tears as they spoke, leading all of them to hug each other for a good cry. Most days, they wash their faces with tears.” Since China now tolerates homosexuality but does not celebrate it publicly, gay men find themselves obliged to marry and have a family in order to maintain a good impression and advance their careers, with tragic consequences for women duped into fraudulent marriages.

In this regard, the exhibition of Chinese Sexual Relics will be a novelty for many Chinese as well as non-Chinese patrons. China has a rich and profound contribution to make in the area of sexual culture, but only if it is widely known and celebrated.

James Miller is Associate Professor of Chinese Religions at Queen’s University. He will be presenting a lecture on “Chinese Sexual Yoga and the Way of Immortality” at the Ancient Chinese Sexual Relics Exhibition in the Delta Chelsea Hotel on Thursday July 2 at 7pm.

For more information visit: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Toronto-ON/Toronto-Sex-Museum/93513428903