Top women's issues and trends in 2022: Egg freezing, destigmatising sex, COVID-19 and more
Ad
Women
Egg freezing, destigmatising sexual practice, COVID-19: What women volition be talking virtually in 2022
What problems will dominate this year? What will we be talking and hearing virtually about, and spending our coin on? Experts share their forecast with CNA Women.
Co-founders Jacqueline Kee (left) and Meryl Lim at The Origin pop-up space in Siri Firm. (Photo: The Origin)
The yr 2022 was a momentous one for women in Singapore. The Government had alleged it the Year of Celebrating SG Women, sparking a series of campaigns throughout the year that advocated for the support, protection and success of this grouping.
Elsewhere, women witnessed intimate products such equally menstruation underwear and sex toys not just enter the mainstream just also explode in terms of offer, with local brands popping up and gaining visibility.
And as more people contracted COVID-19 and got vaccinated, enquiry and discussions revolved effectually the affect of the virus on aspects of a woman's health, including pregnancy, fertility, menstruation and mental health.
Experts CNA Women spoke to said they wait 2022 to be a ramped-up version of concluding year, with talk and efforts focused less on planning and more than on taking action. Here are the issues we tin look to have conversations nearly this twelvemonth:
1. SOCIAL EGG FREEZING
Should women exist immune to freeze their eggs until they are set up to accept children?
This issue will likely be widely discussed in 2022, with the Government expected to address it in its White Paper slated for release in coming months.
This comes as Singapore continues to report one of the everyman total fertility rates in the globe, also as a rise in the historic period at which women give nascence to their first child, said a team of doctors at KK Women'south and Children's Hospital (KKH).
The doctors, made upwardly of Obstetrics and Gynaecology specialist Professor Jerry Chan, Paediatric Endocrinology specialist Professor Fabian Yap, and Neonatology specialist Associate Professor Chua Mei Chien, are office of KKH'southward Good for you Early Life Moments in Singapore (HELMS) initiative, which aims to provide women with "reliable data and evidence-based care" for optimum health outcomes for themselves and their children.
HELMS was initiated as part of the SingHealth Knuckles-NUS Maternal and Child Wellness Research Plant formed in Oct last yr.
Currently, egg freezing is merely allowed for medical reasons, such equally when a woman of childbearing age is undergoing chemotherapy, which could affect her ability to have a kid.
But egg freezing is also a form of "fertility preservation" for women who want to delay child-bearing, said the HELMS squad.
The women and youth units of the ruling People's Action Party addressed this demand in a joint proposal newspaper last year, maxim that allowing egg freezing for non-medical reasons would serve women with "personal circumstances", such every bit not being able to detect a partner and having to marry afterward.
The newspaper also argued that there needed to be a "mindset shift" in terms of expecting women to settle down early.
ii. SEXUAL WELLNESS
Destigmatising cocky-pleasure, and mindfulness in the bedroom – these are among the topics that will gain traction in what experts said will exist an exciting year in the domain of sexual health.
Amidst reports of women experiencing pain during sexual intercourse due to reasons such equally feet, sexologist Dr Martha Lee forecasts that the spotlight will fall on the topic of mindfulness in the sleeping room, which she translates every bit being present while engaging intimately with a partner, taking time to experience the physical sensations instead of rushing towards an end goal.
Such techniques may require a certain amount of guidance and Dr Lee said she expects coaching in this area will ascension in demand.
"Every bit more people begin to recognise that their sexuality is another expanse of their lives to be addressed, they will exist more probable to seek a condom space to navigate emotions and scenarios," she said.
In 2022, women will increasingly embrace cocky-pleasance every bit a form of self-care, every bit they continue to be targeted by commercial messaging normalising the deed, Dr Lee too said.
Indeed, at that place has been an explosion of sex activity-related content for women, including blogs, podcasts and inquiry, over the past few years, from both businesses as well as consumers-turned-thought leaders.
For example, sexual practice toy brand Womanizer conducted a study final year that saw well-nigh 90 per cent of its respondents proverb they would recommend masturbation as a way to combat period pain.
In line with the liberalisation of sex toys, experts said they look a heightened awareness of and preference for well-made products, particularly those that are environmentally friendly.
"I see more people existence more eco-witting, asking questions around the materials and sustainability of their sexuality purchases, and spending their money on products and brands aligned with their values," said Dr Lee.
These will go beyond sex toys, yet, with lubricants and period products likewise being "released following stricter standards" of quality and eco-friendliness, said Mabel Lau, business evolution manager at Wow Tech, the company behind popular brands like Womanizer and We-vibe.
3. THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON WOMEN
With the pandemic showing few signs of abating, COVID-19 will continue to dominate the overall agenda, whether directly or through secondary effects, said Sarah Knibbs, deputy regional director and office-in-accuse at UN Women Regional Part for Asia Pacific.
COVID-nineteen has "underscored the importance of wellness equity", in particular the need to address "maternal and kid health disparities", said KKH.
"A case in point would exist the puzzler in COVID-19 vaccination for women who are looking to get pregnant, significant and lactating.
"We demand a more concerted effort to equip both the healthcare fraternity (including family physicians) and community with credible, bear witness-based information that volition make an touch on the health and well-existence of women and the population," said the HELMS squad of doctors.
"Mentally, parents today are stressed from diverse economic issues and whether they are bringing up a kid correctly, all of which may dampen the emotional well-existence of mothers. COVID-19 has exacerbated the already high rates of prenatal and postnatal low hither," the squad added.
Beyond health, the pandemic and associated response measures have "grossly exacerbated" social inequalities globally, peculiarly gender inequality, said Knibbs.
"Lockdown measures brought a stark, unacceptable rise in gender-based violence; the shift to remote work and online learning increased gender gaps in employment and education; and entrenched sociocultural norms imposed vastly disproportionate intendance burdens on women," she said.
"Now that these bug have been highlighted and data is being collected and analysed, I retrieve 2022 and beyond volition run into deeper discussions of approaches we can have to ensure that response measures do not exacerbate the harms the pandemic has wrought," Knibbs added.
Some discussions include: How to all-time assist violence survivors when travel restrictions and closures cut off avenues of escape? How to ensure that economic recovery reaches everyone? How to be certain that increased digitalisation in employment reduces rather than expands unequal labour forcefulness participation rates?
"These discussions have the potential to contribute to informed solutions and improved efforts to address these issues," said Knibbs.
four. FEMALE LEADERSHIP
This twelvemonth, "more than private-sector companies will realise that breaking gender barriers to the board room makes economical sense", said Knibbs, citing a recent World Bank survey, which plant that firms with more than xxx per cent female board membership performed better financially than those with less – and much amend than companies with no women on the board.
"This follows many studies with like findings," Knibbs said, adding that more 90 studies and reports from different countries and organisations point to "a stiff correlation between more women on boards and companies' meliorate financial performance".
Jaelle Ang, CEO of The Great Room, which runs several upmarket co-working spaces in Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong – too best-selling what she called a "visible" and "nigh encouraging" trend of recognising the ability of women leaders to "finer drive collaboration", particularly in pandemic-driven remote environments.
Ang said the earth is recognising that women'due south participation and leadership are "crucial to finding our fashion out of the pandemic and its bear upon".
"We come across women stepping up in every way – taking on homeschooling with schoolhouse closures, doing their utmost to support their teams, and advancing diversity and inclusion efforts. They are likely to be allies of the less privileged and disregarded, as well as long-term sustainability efforts," said Ang.
Simply we still have some means to go in terms of recognising and rewarding women leadership, which has "concerning implications", she said.
"The issue is, organisations – for and not-profit – risk losing the very leaders they demand right now," Ang added.
5. FEMTECH
In 2022, the focus volition increasingly autumn to the rapidly expanding femtech manufacture, specifically how entrepreneurs work to normalise formerly taboo topics in women'southward wellness and ensure this messaging gets to their target consumers.
Information technology appears to be an opportune time for this exchange to happen, confronting a backdrop of social movements similar #MeToo and pandemic-driven trends to exercise with slowing down and looking inward, such as self-intendance.
For example, last year saw millennials and Gen-Z women becoming more familiar with the concepts of self-acceptance and self-responsibility, said FemTech Association of Asia founders Francesca Geary-Stingl and Lindsay Davis.
This drove them to embrace regular health testing with the aid of companies like Ease Healthcare and Ferne Health.
Ferne Wellness, for instance, started out focusing on testing for sexually transmitted diseases but is now moving towards including other wellness checks such as hormone testing, which tin can aid women discover imbalances that crusade polycystic ovary syndrome, chronic fatigue or stress.
Another company ZaZaZu is transitioning from "pleasure boxes" – mystery boxes containing products curated by experts based on customers' preferences – to its own line of products, some of which are medically endorsed, with an aim to "shift the narrative most sex activity from being a vice or sin to a affair of public health and wellness", the association'southward founders said.
"There is an early adopter's market (in Southeast Asia) and plenty of gaps or challenges for entrepreneurs to fulfil, which is really exciting and total of opportunity," said Davis and Geary-Stingl.
In Singapore, local sex toy brands Good Vibes and Hedonist are hosting what they call a "multi-sensory" pop-upwards at Dempsey Colina restaurant Siri Business firm that will open through March.
Called The Origin, the space aims to provoke discussion near the vulva and sexual desires through an interactive art installation and women-only workshops, and customers who want personal assistance can even set appointments with "pleasance consultants".
The brands said they promise The Origin will encourage women to "repossess the feminine ability by encouraging playful exploration and personal reflection on the complication of self-love, sexual health and acceptance".
6. INTENTIONAL DATING
"If the last ii years have been all about cocky-reflection, change and discovery, then 2022 is going to be the yr that we put all of this into activity. We've all changed so much since the start of the pandemic, it'south time to throw out the dominion book and kickoff dating in a mode that works for you," said Lucille McCart, APAC communications manager for online dating app Bumble.
This is, in fact, the approach that dating app users and across are expected to take this twelvemonth, led past several main trends outlined by McCart.
The pandemic, which has largely defined the last two years, has led single people to change their perceptions of dating and to rethink what they're looking for, said McCart.
Around 50 per cent of the Bumble community globally accept recently reassessed what their "type is", while 34 per cent say their preferences take "drastically changed" every bit compared to before the pandemic.
Additionally, nigh lx per cent are now prioritising "emotional availability" (an increasingly discussed emotional country that features qualities like openness, honesty and vulnerability), while more than 20 per cent care less about a partner's physical appearance, McCall shared.
Finally, 2022 will bring forth the concept of being "consciously single", that is to find "that someone instead of settling for just anyone" and to exist okay with beingness solitary in the concurrently, she said.
CNA Women is a new section on CNA Lifestyle that seeks to inform, empower and inspire the modern adult female. If you have women-related news, issues and ideas to share with us, e-mail CNAWomen [at] mediacorp.com.sg .
Recent Searches
Trending Topics
ericksonthicated51.blogspot.com
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/women/issues-trend-forecast-2022-egg-freezing-covid-19-sex-299196
0 Response to "Top women's issues and trends in 2022: Egg freezing, destigmatising sex, COVID-19 and more"
Post a Comment