High school graduates in China live in constant anxiety. They have to sit through the fate-determining entrance exam, the result of which could more or less shape their future earning power and social status. But before that happens, they have to go through physical check-ups that require, for a brief moment, total nakedness.

Many students tremble at the prospect. A few have reportedly used extreme means to dodge it.

The process described by some as "going through hell" takes place in a health facility. Typically, a dozen teenagers of the same gender will be grouped together, asked to disrobe and perform certain routines such as extending arms and legs and bending.

The awkwardness is palpable, but most oblige after a few seconds of hesitation. Many choose to forget about the experience, and a few have written about it as "humiliating" or "shameful."

Obviously, the authorities were listening. There has been a spate of recent reports of hospitals changing policies on this part of the health exam. Some have extolled the termination of the "stripping" practise as a sign of regained respect for personal privacy.

Health facilities are indeed moving in the right direction. Teenagers are at an awkward age and tend to be thin-skinned about their bodies. Examination involving nudity should be handled with sensitivity and professionalism.

It doesn't really add to the burden of administering thousands of testees on a single site. Cubicles with curtains can be erected without much cost, and those "touchy" tests could be done inside, away from the prying (more likely, equally uneasy) eyes of the milling crowd.

Those who perform the test could explain what purpose it serves and why stripping is necessary. They could also prepare the students by telling them what exactly the procedure will involve before performing it. All this may help ease the nervousness of the youngsters.

But should nudity be called off simply because many are distressed by it? That doesn't preclude its necessity, which is up to medical professionals, not media commentators, to decide.

If it's gratuitous, sure, why keep it and ratchet up people's anguish?

But what if it does indeed serve a health-related purpose?

I remember when I was in college, a schoolmate aroused suspicions because he never used the urinal while others were around and never went to the public bathroom, the only type available then. His roommates were curious about his real gender and wondered aloud whether he had the check-up.

Of course, whether he was just hypersensitive or had a physical issue had little to do with others, and it didn't affect his academic performance either. But it seems to me that his doctor has a right to know and would be in a position to help him if there was a need.

China does not have a tradition of respecting individual privacy, so it is a welcome change that hospital authorities are showing awareness of the issue when handling routine check-up for high school students.

On the other hand, China has a long tradition of body shame, which these reports have inadvertently reinforced.

There is no contradiction between respect for personal privacy and pride of one's own body. When Du Fu wrote about his wife's "jade-like arms," some old scholars felt he stepped over the line. Shouldn't women in that era have covered all body parts except their faces?

Fortunately, we no longer live in a time when women were praised for cutting off their own arms when touched by male strangers. But that doesn't mean we have a healthy attitude toward body image.

Self-loathing is rampant, especially among insecure teenagers. When one would think of jumping off a high building rather than go through the check-up process, it may be just as much a personal problem as improper hospital procedures.

Physical check-up is a strange place to bring up the topic of body perception. In western cultures, body image is often about young women trying to look like Barbie. Over here, there is the historical baggage that your body is something to be shameful of, especially the private parts. It is time we told our youngsters that, yes, they are private and people should not violate your privacy, but no, they are by no means loathsome.

E-mail: raymondzhou@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/15/2006 page4)