A post on Weibo this week by a mother complaining about the blunt language and graphic illustrations in an elementary school textbook on sex education given to her child has sparked a debate on Chinese social media.
最近，一位母亲在微博上抱怨孩子小学的性教育课本语言过于直白，且配图过于露骨，在社交媒体上引发了热烈的讨论。
"Is it reasonable for a textbook to be compiled like this? I myself would blush looking at it," the mother, from Hangzhou in China's Zhejiang Province and identified only by her username @Xinnianggenzhuagnyingzi, wrote on the Weibo social networking platform.
浙江省杭州市一位二年级孩子的妈妈--微博名为“新娘跟妆莹子”在微博上吐槽道：“这本书这样编辑真的好么？我自己都看不下去了。”
Pictures alongside her post showed the textbook featured not only illustrations of the reproductive organs and of two people having sex, but also portrayed discussions about sexual harassment.
根据其微博上发布的图片显示，教科书的配图为发生性行为两人的生殖器官，同时还配有关于性骚扰的相关讨论内容。
The post has now stirred up a heated discussion online, with some expressing concern that the content may have a negative psychological impact on young children, while others welcomed what they said was a long overdue infusion of sex education in the country.
该微博引起了网友们的热烈讨论，有些人担心这些内容会对孩子产生负面的心理影响，但有些网友则对其持认同态度，并表示国内早就应该对孩子们进行性教育。

A netizen, @yuansuiyuewukehuitou, backed the school and the publishers of the textbook in a post that was liked over 850 times.
微博名为“愿岁月无可回头”的网友公开发帖表示支持学校和出版社，该微博被点赞850余次。
"There are so many sexually ignorant people across the country. Instead of avoiding telling children about it, what we should do is to help improve their understanding about sex so that they can better protect themselves."
该用户提到：“国内有很多不懂性的人，我们不应该去阻止孩子知道这些知识，反而应该帮助他们提高对'性'方面的了解，从而能够更好保护自己。”
User @Liulangxiaowu agreed, noting that "teenagers would otherwise resort to other improper methods, including watching pornography, to get the information if we hold back appropriate sex education all the time."
另一位名为“流浪小屋”的用户表示赞同，并表示：“如果不适当进行性教育，孩子们很可能会另辟不恰当途径，比如看色情片等来获取相关信息。”
The Beijing Normal University Publishing Group, which published the book, told Chinanews that the materials involved underwent strict scrutiny.
该读本出版单位北京师范大学出版社在接受《中新网》报道时表示，相关材料都已经经过了严格审查。
Zhang Meimei, director of the Sex Education Research Center at Capital Normal University, noted however that schools should inform parents when using such textbooks so that they can also promote understanding about the issue at home.
北京师范大学性教育研究中心主任张玫玫表示，学校应该事先针对此教材和家长进行沟通，由此家长们也能够在家里进行相关的教育和指导。