Viral social media post claims Chinese wives are secretly feeding their husbands impotency drugs to stop cheating

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Some mainland wives are feeding their husbands drugs that induce impotence to prevent or stop them from cheating, according to a social media post. The post, which was reportedly written by someone trying to expose the online shops that sell the drugs, claimed a handful of wives had been secretly feeding their husbands diethylstilbestrol (DES), a synthetic estrogen drug, to ensure they cannot perform sexually and, the logic goes, ditch their mistresses. Xiaoxiang Morning Herald reported that the post went viral, and screenshots showed some women had left messages below the claims saying the strategy had “achieved good results”. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. One comment said, “It took about two weeks after giving it to my husband for the drugs to take effect. My husband is now very good at home.” Another person wrote: “My husband suffered sexual dysfunction after using it and asked himself ‘why?’. Don’t blame me. I did it for the family and will continue to use it on him.” A reporter with the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald in Hunan province subsequently searched for DES on an online shopping platform and found some shops that did not advertise the drug but said it could be delivered with discretion. The report quoted the unidentified shop assistant as saying: “You can ‘purchase’ other products but we will deliver [DES].” 50 grams of the drug could be bought for 90 yuan (US$14), 100 grams for 170 yuan (US$26) and 200 grams for 320 yuan (US$50). “Many people bought it, at least 100 sales a month,” the assistant said. The Xiaoxiang Morning Herald reporter consulted assistants of other shops and was told the drug was unavailable. One store said it could be only used on animals. The South China Morning Post searched for the drug on major online shopping platforms and