Josephine Chuen-juei Ho (; born 16 June 1951) is a Taiwanese educator and academic. She is the chair of the English department of the

National Central University National Central University (; abbreviated NCU; ) is a public research university based in Taiwan. It was founded in 1902 in Nanjing; initially located in Miaoli after moving to Taiwan, it relocated to Zhongli in 1962 and developed into a com ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, and coordinator of its Center For the Study of Sexualities. She is one of the most prominent feminist scholars in Taiwan.

Education

Ho earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(B.A.) degree from

National Chengchi University National Chengchi University () is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. First established in Nanjing in 1927, the university was subsequently reestablished in 1954 in Taiwan as the first reestablished "National University". The u ...

, a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

(M.S.) degree from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, and a

Doctor of Education Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...

(Ed.D.) degree from the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

. She then earned a second doctorate, her

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

, from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

Activism

As an activist, Ho has been drawing attention to women's rights in Taiwan since the 1990s. Though there were no laws criminalizing sexual harassment at the time, sexual assaults on women were increasingly reported in the news after the first legal case on sexual harassment was heard in 1989. In May 1994, Ho led Taiwan's first demonstration against sexual harassment, and devised its slogan, "We don't want sexual harassment, we want orgasms. If you keep sexually harassing us, we'll cut it off with a pair of scissors!"

Zoophilia webpage incident

In April 2003, an article appeared in the ''

China Times The ''China Times'' (, abbr. ) is a daily Chinese-language newspaper published in Taiwan and one of the most widely circulated newspapers in Taiwan. Founded in 1950, the China Times Group was acquired by food and media conglomerate Want Want, whi ...

'' claiming that Ho's website had several pages that covered the topic of

zoophilia Zoophilia is a paraphilia in which a person experiences a sexual fixation on non-human animals. Bestiality instead refers to cross-species sexual activity between humans and non-human animals. Due to the lack of research on the subject, it is ...

and actively promoted the practice, with images. 13 conservative groups collectively filed a complaint accusing Ho of making obscenities available to children. This

sensationalism In journalism and mass media, sensationalism is a type of editorial tactic. Events and topics in news stories are selected and worded to excite the greatest number of readers and viewers. This style of news reporting encourages biased or emoti ...

led to thirteen Christian and conservative organizations collectively filing a complaint with the Taipei District Court. The process lasted for over one year, with a not guilty ruling returned on 15 September 2004, because the zoophilia pages were only one part of the website's essays and reports. Thus the incorporation of some pictures did not constitute an obscenity. The incident has been seen as an example of sensationalist media and received international attention as a perceived confrontation between conservative aspects of Taiwanese society and

sexual freedom A sexual norm can refer to a personal or a social norm. Most cultures have social norms regarding sexuality, and define '' normal sexuality'' to consist only of certain sex acts between individuals who meet specific age criteria, nonconsangui ...

Selected publications

* * * *

Honors and awards

*(2016)

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

, Taiwan. *(2005) 1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize () *(2004) Outstanding Research Award.

, Taiwan.

Notes

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ho, Josephine 1951 births Living people Taiwanese women academics 21st-century Taiwanese educators Taiwanese women educators Sexologists Taiwanese health professionals Taiwanese LGBTQ rights activists Sex educators Obscenity controversies Academic staff of the National Central University National Chengchi University alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni University of Georgia alumni Indiana University alumni Sex-positive feminists Taiwanese feminists 21st-century Taiwanese women writers 21st-century women educators