China: Female Astronauts Must Be Married with Children

China: Female Astronauts Must Be Married with Children

The men chosen to lead China into outer space are often referred to locally as "superhuman beings" — and not just because they train to cross the final frontier. Would-be taikonauts have to meet near impossible standards that are meant to weed out the less-than-flawless.

Chinese astronauts cannot suffer from chronic sore throats or runny noses. They mustn't have food restrictions, strong regional accents, ringworm, cavities or scars. Bad breath, body odor and a snoring problem are all immediate disqualifiers. And if China's spacemen are expected to satisfy an unlikely string of qualifications, so too are its new spacewomen — with two notable additional criteria. No it's not the toilet problem! (Must be able to use a urinal or pee out the spacecraft window, in an emegency!)

China's first two female reserve astronauts, selected earlier this month from a pool of 15 female fighter pilots, were required to be non-virgins and preferably, wives and mothers. Sounds like the title of an adult movie. No virgins in space! Where no-ne can hear you scream or whimper!

The reasoning behind the prerequisite, according to Chinese 'officials', is that spaceflight could potentially harm the women's fertility. "It's out of the consideration of being responsible for the female pilots," Xu Xianrong, director of the PLA's Clinical Aerospace Medicine Center in Beijing and a member of the 'selection panel.' Yeah, right! The casting couch for Chinese astronauts?

"Though there is little (no) evidence on how the space experience will affect the female constitution, we have to be extra cautious, because this is a first for China."

Ensuring that the female astronauts have already reproduced, he said, will guarantee that their family planning is not disrupted. But at least one authority, Zhang Jianqi, former deputy commander of the country's manned space program, has stated that the requirement stands because married women are more physically and psychologically mature. You can interpret that statement anyway you wish but I find it just a bit dubious, in a sexist kinda way.

So it seems to be essential to loose your virginity prior to entering the Chinese space race. Is this a big problem for Chinese women? Potential candidates looking to address this criteria, please contact me directly for personal coaching. There seems to be a quick and simple way to becoming physically and psychologically mature.