Differences in American and Chinese’s Sex Education

Talk Stoop With Nessa holds this talk show. In this episode, Dr. Ruth Westheimer is invited to give some tips about sex for millennials. Dr. Ruth Westheimer is an American sex therapist, author, radio and television talk show host, and Holocaust survivor. She briefly worked for the planned parenthood, and this experience encouraged her to continue studying human sexuality.

Ethos is established at the beginning of both videos, however, through different strategies. As an attention-grabber, in Dr. Ruth's Sex Tips for Millennials, a picture of Dr. Ruth is shown during the first few seconds of the video, making it very obvious to notice who is the guest for the talk show. In the Chinese talk show, the video begins with a self-introduction by Li Yinhe, followed by a short statement about how she views sex and relationships. It is clear that in both two videos, experts appear at the very beginning, and the purpose of this arrangement is to attract attention and express the authorities, which is a use of ethos. However, while the American video only displays a picture of Dr. Ruth, the Chinese talk show also includes an introduction of Li Yinhe. This introduction gives audiences who do not know Li Yinhe before a chance to learn her social status and her authorities in the field of sex and establishes ethos more effectively. The arrangement of showing ethos at first can convince their audiences that their speech is valuable and trustful, and once ethos is established, it persists existing in the whole video. During the first few seconds of the videos, audiences are prepared to listen to what experts are going to say and give priority to their speeches.

Age, as described by Aristotle, can affect the characters of speakers as well. One noticeable feature for both experts is that they are old. Although age is an apparent characteristic that can be observed in many aspects, talking about ages during speech is a way to show credibility and authority. Dr. Ruth, having celebrated her 90-year-old birthday this year, expressed her authority by emphasizing her age. When Dr. Ruth lists her first tip (no hooking up on the first date), she begins the sentence saying: "I am an old-fashioned atmosphere." "Old-fashioned" here doesn't indicate Dr. Ruth is conservative or traditional; on the contrary, Dr. Ruth conveys the idea that she is more experienced than the audiences who are young people. In Li Yinhe’s video, age also represents more of a strong ethos. Compared to younger generations, most older people in China are less likely to change their traditional and conservative attitudes towards sex. While parents or old generations are less likely to be convinced by a young expert, older somehow means more experience and expertise.

Besides ethos, in these two videos, age is also related to pathos. Overall, both talk shows create a relaxing atmosphere. The interactions between the guest and host are more like chatting with friends rather than have formal interviews, but they serve a different purpose. In the Chinese talk show, the video itself is designed to be interesting and humorous by deliberately showing some accidental scenes. For instance, a view that Li Yinhe speaks to the cameraman, which was supposed to be cut off when editing. The music is also lively and cheerful. The purpose of creating a relaxing atmosphere is to reduce tension because most Chinese people still hold a conservative attitude towards sex. By offering a relaxed atmosphere, it is easier for audiences to accept a sexual topic and be interested in it. In the American talk show, people in American have a relatively higher acceptance of sexual issues. A relaxed atmosphere still functions as a way to reduce tension. Still, more importantly, it aims to encourage audiences to talk about the demands of sex as naturally as talking about any other needs. 90-year-old Dr. Ruth, sits on stairs closely with the talk show host, talking about her sex tips. She speaks in an interesting and humorous style. Although her voice is old, her sound is energetic and friendly. She looks gentle and easy-going. She employs pathos by her voice and her appearance, which is to convey a feeling that she is trustful. The comment received the most likes of this video said, "she seems like a grandparent that has thrown away societal pressure and just wants to help people," which proves how successful she uses pathos to gain trust.

When using age as a tool to show ethos and pathos, the Chinese talk show employs age to create a particular style in the title. Though Li Yinhe is 67 years old, the video maker referred Li Yinhe as a “young lady” in the video’s title. This word arrangement is named Oxymoron by Aristotle, which means to congregate two ordinarily contradictory terms together. This combination conveys a message that although Li Yinhe is old, has a young state of mind, and are more open to sex.

Logos can be seen in both videos. Li Yinhe organizes her words in a logical way. Dr. Ruth uses psychological theory and explains how body functions to show her logos. For example, when giving the argument for her fourth tip which is "masturbate before you go on a date," she explains explicitly that after masturbating, "you have satisfied yourself" and "you don't feel the sexual tension," so you can more engage in the relationship. When facing the host's question, Dr. Ruth also responses in a well-organized way. In addition to the persuasive argument, Li Yinhe also draws upon her personal experience and facts. Yi Yinhe used to have a romantic and beautiful relationship with Wang Xiaobo, but this love ended up with Wang's death. When being asked "does appearance matters," Li Yinhe uses her love with Wang as an example, then concludes that "With love, everything can be achieved.” There are more logos shown in Li Yinhe’s speech because Li Yinhe will take time to explain every question through examples or personal thoughts. Another reason is that Li Yinhe has a different delivery with Dr. Ruth. While Li Yinhe generally speaks in a slow and calm voice, Dr. Ruth is more active and dynamic, with ethos expressed. Logos is of great importance for experts because their logical thinking and communicating ability also reflect their ethos. If a speaker uses disordered language, it will decrease the speaker’s reliability.

Dr. Ruth and Li Yinhe employ different language styles. During Dr. Ruth’s speech, she does not avoid any sex words like sexual organs or “having sex” itself. She speaks “masturbate”, “vibrator”, “orgasm”, “foreplay” and “sexual satisfaction”. There is some use of implicit words like “hook up” and “go to bed”, but they are relatively less. Overall, Dr. Ruth speaks more directly and straightforwardly. By contrast, Li Yinhe uses a lot of euphemisms, an obscure word or phrase that people often use to refer to something embarrassing or unpleasant. For example, Li Yinhe sometimes uses "having that" as a euphemism of “having sex”. Ellipsis, the deliberate omission of a word or of words which are readily implied by the context, is also applied in Li Yinhe’s speech. When talking about whether it is appropriate to have premarital sex, Li Yinhe omits to say the object. "…there are three levels of regulations on sex. The first one is a traditional one, that is to (have sex) with the person you married. The second one is to say that as long as you love a person, (sex) can occur. On the third stage, you can (have sex) as long as that person attracts you." In this paragraph, Li Yinhe does not say sex exactly, but sex is implied.

Another distinguish between Dr. Ruth and Li Yinhe is the latter uses the metaphor. In the last part of the video, Li Yinhe tells a story about her and Wang Xiaobo. "At first, I was not satisfied with Wang's ugly appearance, but his pure love moved me…Sometimes love is like a philosopher's stone, turning wherever it touches into gold.” Here, Li Yinhe compared love with a philosopher's stone. A philosopher's stone is an imaginary substance that can change any metal into gold or silver. Love, however, is an abstract concept. By employing this metaphor, Li Yinhe poetically appreciates the power of love.