An official Chinese school textbook that calls young women who have sex before marriage ‘degenerates’, has sparked a social media backlash.

The book, which was approved by the education department in China’s southeastern Jiangxi province, tells girls that premarital sex has a ‘tremendous negative psychological and physical impact’. It goes on to explain that they will be ‘sacrificing their bodies’ and that the boy who ‘conquers’ her, will love her less as a result.

“Girls do not increase the love they receive from boys by sacrificing their bodies, but rather are seen as ‘degraded’ by their ‘conquerors,” it says. “As a result, sexual relations can cause women to lose love.”

The sex education book, which was first released in 2004 by the 21st Century Publishing Group, came to light when a teacher posted pictures from it on Weibo, the Chinese social networking site. The photos prompted a fierce debate around gender inequality in China and has been accused of objectifying women.