did-chinese-really-think-a-sex-toy-was-a-mushroom

did chinese really think a sex toy was a mushroom

My friend, you will never believe what happened to me the other day – I was on a trip to China to learn about their culture and explore some of their most unique sights. We were going to the countryside, and on our way we stopped by this old stall in a market that was selling “mushrooms”. We were instantly intrigued because the people there called it a “sex toy”, not a mushroom!

At first, I was super embarrassed about what was going on and my friends even put me on the spot about why I was so red in the face! To be honest, it wasn’t until later that we realized that the Chinese people didn’t think it was actually a mushroom – they thought it was a “sex toy”! We all started laughing because we realized how naive we had been. But it did leave us wondering about why they had called it by such a strange name!

After some research, we found out that Chinese cultural references actually call one of those “sex toys” a “mushroom” because of its shape. It has the same physical qualities as a wild mushroom, so it somehow makes sense!

But it did make me realize that even though we all share the same language and culture, we still need to be mindful of cultural differences. We could have easily ended up offending someone. In the end, I left China with a newfound appreciation for their culture, as well as a new appreciation for the need for us to be more aware of cultural differences.

Now that I’ve told you my story, I’m curious – what do you think about the Chinese “mushroom” phenomenon? Have you ever come across something similar where two different cultures refer to the same thing by entirely different names? Would love to hear your views on this!

For those of you that are still skeptical and aren’t convinced about the Chinese mistaking a sex toy for a mushroom, allow me to expand on this by presenting some interesting facts about this phenomenon.

In some ancient Chinese practices, dates are given in two parts. The first part consists of the lunar information, including the year, and the second is a “mushroom” that represents the hour it was born in. The original purpose of this practice was to designate special births that were believed to be lucky. According to that tradition, Chinese still use the “mushroom” to refer to the hour of birth, although it is now symbolically connected to the hour, and not an actual product.

Another point worth mentioning is that Chinese sex toy producers have actually taken advantage of this “mushroom” phenomenon by targeting the elderly market, naming their toys accordingly. This has less to do with ancient traditions and more to do with capitalizing on the fact that the elderly is more likely to believe that a sex toy is a “mushroom” than the younger generation.

Another interesting thing to note is that although “mushroom” is meant to represent a sex toy, the object itself has a number of shapes and can come in variations such as Penis Rings-shaped, eggs or even more abstract shapes. This might be why the Chinese refer to it as a “mushroom” because the original product looks like an unconvential “shroom”.

On a lighter note, jokes about the “mushroom” sex toy have become a popular meme in China, and some people even have a fascination with it. The “mushrooms” difficulty in being browsable has resulted in much comedic value, which the Chinese have embraced.

Overall, it’s obvious that the Chinese have a complex relationship with “mushroom” sex toys. There’s some ancient tradition, sex toys some humor, and of course some business savvy involved too. Whatever the case may be, it’s clear that the “mushroom” phenomenon has a much deeper meaning in Chinese culture than we may think.