About a quarter of Chinese women are not satisfied with wedlock sexual intercourse, according to the result of a nationwide online poll released in Chongqing Sunday.

The poll showed that 54.2 percent of the female interviewees said sexual life played a significant role in marriage, but a quarter of women admitted they were discontented about the quality of sexual intercourse with their husbands.

However, only 10 percent of men who responded to the online survey, jointly launched by Chinese Medical Association and Chinese Sex Science Society in August 2004, had such complaints.

"Traditional Chinese moral concepts require women to be restrained and behave in a reserved manner, but men are more active in sexual life," said Ma Xiaonian, director of Chinese Sex Science Society, who disclosed the poll result at a forum on sex medicine in this municipality in southwest China.

In ancient China, men played a dominant role in social issues, politics, families, and sexual affairs. Women were usually regarded as passive service providers in sex and their role was to satisfy men.

About 12.4 percent of Chinese women seldom or have never had sexual pleasure, but the ratio for men was merely 3.4 percent, the survey showed.

"This indicates that a large number of Chinese women have problems in sexual life," said Ma, stressing that sexual satisfaction does not only means physical pleasure.

(Xinhua News Agency October 24, 2005)