It’s a complicated social phenomena, and not just here in China: women dating rich (and sometimes married) men, just because they have a fat wallet.

But while all countries have been dealing with this issue since practically the start of time, it seems so much more pronounced in China that Guangzhou is instituting a pilot program inside its schools to dissuade girls from becoming mistresses.

From the China Daily:

Girls in South China’s Guangdong province will get a crash course on how to resist the sweet talk of “sugar daddies” when schools start teaching them about self-respect.

The pilot project is aimed at telling girls at middle and elementary schools how to avoid falling into the clutches of older, richer men and stand on their own two feet.

“The education will focus on self-esteem, self-confidence, self-reliance and self-improvement,” said Lei Yulan, vice-governor of Guangdong and director of the Working Committee on Children and Women of Guangdong province.

“We hope to get experience from this pilot program and then gradually roll it out across the province.”

She revealed the plan at a symposium on Monday where Miao Meixian, the former principal of Guangdong Female Technical Secondary School, criticized the phenomenon that has seen many female college students and graduates become mistresses or marry sugar daddies and become full-time housewives.

Miao said the young women were settling for such a life in part because of deficiencies and failures in the education of girls.

Not everyone is a fan of the project, however, believing it could have some unintended side effects:

….some students argued that exposing children to such topics too soon could bring more risks than benefits.

“Mentioning such topics as marrying rich men or being a mistress may suggest ideas to young girls that they had not thought about,” said Shen Xiaoqing, an 18-year-old female student at Guangzhou Zhixin Middle School.

Some experts also said such a program is unlikely to dissuade people from marrying for money.

“Wanting to rely on rich men is a complicated social phenomenon caused by various factors and it is improper to attribute it to personal immorality,” said Li Xia, an anthropologist working in women’s studies and a senior editor at the Commercial Press.

One colleagues’ take on the matter is that doing the so-called “right thing” in China, such as going to university, working hard, and then entering the workplace often doesn’t result in success (or happiness) in such a corrupt and imbalanced society. The result being that some women decide they can get further ahead taking a different path.

Some argue as China continues to develop and spread the wealth around, fewer women will either want or need to rely on men to achieve their personal goals.

Of course, others would also argue there is nothing wrong with being a mistress at all.