Sexual reform and opening-up

Xiao's play isn't the first example of the female anatomy being used to promote feminism in China. In November 2013, an online campaign involved female university students holding whiteboards bearing messages that began with "My vagina says…" calling for gender equality and sexual freedom.

Cultural conservatism coupled with a lack of information about women's masturbation are suppressing the topic in China's sexual revolution, said Xiao.

"When discussion is put on a larger platform, such as the Internet, it is very possible it will generate abuse," Xiao said in reference to the campaign. "Amid the gradual opening-up about sex in general, there are very few social movements related to women's masturbation."

Chen Chen (pseudonym), 22, admits she is among the majority of Chinese female university students who masturbates. She expressed hope that more information and even talks could be made available to increase her understanding and break down social barriers. "But I don't think I would be brave enough to join in a discussion," she added.

Wu Zheng, CEO of Chinese sex toy startup TOIs, said discussion about healthy sex practices had been silenced amid China's crackdown on pornography.

"Sex education and pornography are two different things. Some of my articles, which only teach women how to masturbate without pornographic aids, are often reported by Web users and then blacklisted," she said.

Wu, 34, recalled friends in China asking her to buy and send them sex toys from Britain where she attended graduate school.

When she returned to Beijing in 2005, she was surprised that despite the city's conspicuous sex shops there was a hole in the market for good-quality sex toys and masturbation aids.

Today, Wu runs workshops attended by women who discuss and marvel about the latest sex toys.

"We initially included strangers in a workshop, but later we found out that girlfriends tend to talk to each other about masturbation," Wu said.