(JP➝EN) Knowing “FemTech” for a better feeling body
This is the translation of the article “フェムテック”で知る、 もっと気持ちいいカラダ by Numero TOKYO, 2020.11.24. You can check the original with pictures here: https://numero.jp/20201124-techup-feature/
This was a commission by Emma, a fan of the idol Ayaka Wada (featured in this article) aka Ayacho, which I’m a huge fan as well. Wada tweeted about it:
https://twitter.com/ayakawada/status/1331797762883534849
Translation:
I learned about FemTech’s concept and products in this interview at Numero TOKYO!
We talked about menstruation care and getting to know your own body. There are certain parts in the article where it may be implied that only women have periods, but I think it’s important to consider the care for everyone who menstruates!
Please, take a look!
The word 生理 can be used both as “physiology” and “menstruation”. But since the article talks explicitly about menstruation, we think it’s safe to believe that’s what Ayacho meant.
This is a very interesting read for anyone who is interested not only is Ayacho’s thoughts on the issue, but also those who want to take a glimpse at the japanese society through the eyes of these women.
Knowing “FemTech” for a better feeling body
Article by Numero TOKYO, 2020.11.24
How will your life change with the prominent “FemTech”(1)? Mihyon Song, obstetrician and gynecologist, Amina Sugimoto from Fermata, which handles femtech products, and Ayaka Wada, the idol who talks about women idealization, will talk thoroughly!
(T/N: check the glossary at the end for words with numbers)
(Excerpt from the December 2020 issue of Numero TOKYO)
“Please visit a gynecological clinic without reserve, so you can also detect illnesses at an early stage.” — Mihyon Song.
Mihyon Song: First, shall we explain the definition of “Femtech”?
Amina Sugimoto: Actually, there isn’t a fixed definition for “Femtech”. It can refer to products and technology made for women, but in Japan it’s becoming more of a word that represents a movement.
Song: The movement includes Femtech, right? We should welcome this tendency, but knowing that Femtech and medical treatment are different things is important as a prerequisite. There are countries where the medical care is expensive, so they try to facilitate things with Femtech, while there are also countries like Japan, where the medical care is cheap. In medical care, you get treatment, and Femtech is used as a support, to nurture. If you don’t draw that line, some illnesses may be overlooked.
Comfortable with the newest menstrual products
“Because of Femtech, I see how important it is to know my own body.” — Ayaka Wada.
Ayaka Wada: I’d like to question you about your own period. In my own experience, I always had strong menstrual cramps, but that became so natural that I didn’t even talk to my mom about it. But in the last few years, I found out about how women’s livelihood is becoming diverse, and that there are a lot of options to deal with menstruation as well, so I’m putting it into practice little by little.
Song: After all, in Japan there’s a history of how women talking about periods is a shameful thing.
Wada: When performing live, I’d be worried using just a normal pad. Then I took the courage to try a tampon, and it was a relief. And then, when I looked it up, I found out that there are things made to make you comfortable even during your period.
Song: Menstruation may have various symptoms, such as the menstrual blood flow, abdominal pains, headaches, pain on the lumbar region, diarrhea, intestinal conditions, and ovulation pain (mittelschmerz) before and/or after the menstruation. In addition to that, between 70 and 80% of people feel out of form, like getting affected psychologically and/or getting rashes and discomfort for using pads. Besides the medical treatment from a hospital, you can reduce the effects with amenities.
Sugimoto: Menstrual cups are getting attention nowadays. Fermata sells one made by the korean health care brand Eve (2), which develops products specifically for woman’s body. It’s also environmentally friendly, so I’m confident recommending it to customers.
Song: At our clinic, we sell the “Rose Cup”(3), made in Japan. There are a lot of overseas brands making menstrual cups, but this is a rare case of national product. Depending on the person, the size of the vagina and pelvis may vary, and they have a size which fits Japanese people. Since Eve’s menstrual cup is Korean, it probably fits well too. What is the volume?
Sugimoto: The mini size is 20ml. (0,68oz)
Song: Rose Cup is 18ml (0,61oz). It lasts about half a day. In web articles about menstrual cups, there’s often comments saying “That’s not enough for me!”, but if a 18ml menstrual cup for half a day is not enough for you, please go to a hospital! If your flow is too heavy, you’ve got to consult your doctor. With that in mind, the menstrual cup is something that allows you to measure your own flow.
Sugimoto: Other popular products include the menstrual panties(4), which will absorb the menstrual blood and can be used again after washing, and feminine washes(5) (T/N: called “soap for the delicate zone” in japanese).
Song: In the summer, the number of patients that come to the clinic complaining about itching increases. If you search for it on the internet, the reason appears to be candidiasis, so the patients assume that’s what it is, but actually about half of them were getting itchy just for stifling the humidity. This can be relieved with use of feminine washes and looking after your pubic hair, ok?
Wada: About the feminine wash, at first I was embarrassed just from standing in front of it at the store. After I got over that and used it, it was very pleasant. I recommend it to those around me, but they’re either embarrassed or not really into it…
Is talking about sex still taboo, even in the Reiwa period?
Song: In Japan, there’s still a feeling of taboo about sex. I feel like idols are especially under pressure to avoid this topic all together.
Wada: Things related to sex also evoke the existence of a partner, so no one around me would talk about it. Now that I’ve graduated from my group and work alone, I’m fighting the established image of what femininity is, so I want to talk about it and inform more people.
Song: It seems like some parents teach their kids that “boys have peepees, but girls don’t have anything”. But, you could tell kids that “there’s a home for babies called uterus, and that the vagina is the path to get there”, and just by that explain easily about menstruation, sex and childbirth.
Sugimoto: Miss Wada, when did you first start taking care of your own body?
Wada: The reason was hair removal (laugh). Since I study art, I’m used to seeing pieces with sexual themes. We even had a class in which we discussed Rokudenashiko’s work (T/N: Igarashi Megumi, a japanese plastic artist whose work usually involves the vagina), but I had an internal conflict about my own body. However, after I made up my mind, I got myself a VIO laser hair removal (N/T: for the bikini line, and groin + anus region) and started to take care of my feminine parts, and I became much more comfortable. From there, I could face my own sex and also start going to the clinic.
Sugimoto: It takes practice and a little courage, right? Among our staff, there are those who were resistant and those who weren’t, but gradually they all got used to talking about it casually. But when you think about it, Japan was originally very open about sexuality, wasn’t it?
Song: Sexuality started to be seen as taboo after the ocidental influence during the Meiji period, with the introduction of the abnegation culture. Japanese women are said to be reserved, but that isn’t from long ago in history.
Sugimoto: In Japan, the psychological barriers are tough, but there are also barriers on the regulation side. The discardable sanitary napkin (pad) is now the mainstream, but they only came to Japan in 1961; until then we used cotton wool. After that, the sanitary pad overtook the market, but in almost 60 years there were no major reforms on the market regulation, so the only option you have as menstruation supplies are pads. That’s why even if you try to import superior products from overseas, it costs time and money.
Song: Recently, we can finally see sexual health being featured on TV, but it’s still late if you compare us to the US and Europe. We’ve just talked about Eve, a brand from Korea. How’s that going over there?
Sugimoto: Korea’s society is also male-dominated, but I have the impression that they’re more advanced than Japan. If this boom becomes even bigger, the government would have to listen to us, and even Japan could surpass the US and Europe. It could be a huge movement.
Knowing your body for your own sake
“I’d like Femtech to become an even bigger movement, for the sake of more comfort in our society.” — Amina Sugimoto.
A sudden question from the editor, Miss K! “My partner asked me if I could think about doing “Kegel exercises” (6) to increase the sensitivity during sex…”
Song: What?! Recently, there was even an article talking about “making your partner crazy about you with a tight vagina”, why go so far?? It’s said that vaginal training often strengthens the pelvic floor muscle (Kegel), but what everyone’s training is the puborectalis muscle, the shallowest muscle from the pelvic floor muscle group. It has effects on urinary incontinence, but it doesn’t affect sensitivity during sex!
Sugimoto: Among our products, there’s one called “Elvie Trainer” (7) that connects to your smartphone, allowing your vaginal training to feel like playing a game.
Song: If you want to train all of the pelvic floor muscles, there are exercises from the Gasquet method (8), developed in France. If men train their pelvic floor muscles, it’s said to improve the sperm flow, so if you’re going to do it anyway, you could do it together.
Sugimoto: Talking about sex, there’s also an item called “Lioness” (9). It can find the spots where you feel good. I’d recommend it not only for having better sex, but for everyone who wants to know more about their own bodies.
Song: It’s a piece of technology that teaches your body how pleasure feels like.
Sugimoto: Devices that can measure and process data are really evolving. “Bloom Life” (10) is the first device in the world that can monitor labor pain (contractions), and there’s action to register it as a medical equipment in the US, where going to the hospital isn’t so easy since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Song: If that becomes popular, cases of urgent hospitalization followed by premature birth might decrease.
Sugimoto: Another item, “Keg” (11), measures the characteristics of vaginal discharge to find out the ovulation time.
Song: I want to say “Just don’t use birth control!”, but this is also interesting.
Sugimoto: If you can come to freely know your ovulation time, your awareness towards pregnancy may change.
Song: You could tackle reproductive health in an optimistic way, right? You can still see resistance to the pill in Japan. The pill is not a contraceptive medicine, it’s a capsule of feminine hormones that can make your flow lighter and regulate your period cycle. People say that they’re scared of infertility and the side effects, but resting the ovaries can also prevent endometriosis, which can cause infertility. I’d like you all to think seriously about the pill, even those hoping to get pregnant in the future.
Wada: Even though we live in a time where you can willfully choose when to get pregnant, a lot of people around me still say they want to let it happen naturally, thinking that “if they’re having a baby with their loved ones, it doesn’t matter when”. But wouldn’t being able to control pregnancy and birth times to a certain level make your life better?
Song: And you won’t be gifted with pregnancy only when you want it, life isn’t just about being swung around by “nature”. Same with menstruation. In the past, women used to have a lot of children, so they didn’t get as many period cycles. Since the number of cycles has increased in the past 100 years, the incidence of womanly diseases such as endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, endometriosis and infertility has increased as well. If you’re worried about your menstruation, you can control it using the pill or the IUS (12), thus making yourself healthier and increasing your quality of life.
Wada: I’ve talked about fertility treatment with a friend who’s in her 30s. An acquaintance of mine gave birth through oocyte cryopreservation (egg freezing). So I know those options exist, but when I think about when to get pregnant, I worry if I’d be able to keep up with both work and childcare, and how I’d get support from society.
Song: For now, pregnancy through oocyte cryopreservation is still very complicated and expensive. I hope everyone could be at ease when visiting a gynecologist, including when planning to get pregnant, and use femtech to get to know about themselves.
Wada: I think it’s important to both acquire knowledge and put it into practice. Because you won’t know until you’ve tried it. I now feel that sharing about it it’s also important.
Sugimoto: It doesn’t matter how advanced the products from other countries are, it’s often hard to import them because of the law regulation and cultural differences. But if each individual speaks up, we can get the country moving. Let’s all speak about it together!
GLOSSARY
(1) FemTech
Techniques, services, products, etc. that solve women’s health issues. It was made by the company “Crew”, when presenting their period management app to investors.
(2) Eve
A healthcare brand founded by a Korean team of people in their 20s. Their organic condoms also got into the news.
(3) Rose Cup
Menstrual cup made in Japan. It features inner blades that prevent the blood from spilling from the edge when detaching.
(4) Menstrual panties
Wear one to be freed from the stuffiness of pads. Can be used in combination to the menstrual cup.
(5) Feminine intimate wash (Soap for the delicate zone)
It’s milder than the normal soap and gentle to the skin, it also reduces odors and discomfort caused by menstruation.
(6) Kegel exercises / Vaginal training (Pompoir)
Training of the pelvic floor muscles, which is famed for having effects on the sensitivity during sex, and even on dieting. What it really does affect, is the prevention of urinary incontinence.
(7) Elvie Trainer
Inserting it into the vagina and connecting it to the smartphone app, through a built-in sensor, allows a fun vaginal training.
(8) Gasquet approach (method)
Proposed by the French doctor Bernadette de Gasquet. Work on the pelvic floor muscles through exercises that combine medicine and yoga.
(9) Lioness
A self-pleasure item that, once inserted in the vagina, allows the visualization of muscle contraction on a smartphone app.
(10) Bloom Life
A device that can be attached to the abdomen of pregnant women to monitor fetal and maternal health by measuring muscle movement.
(11) Keg
A device that predicts the date of ovulation and the best timing to get pregnant by placing it in the vagina and measuring cervical mucus (a part of the vaginal discharge).
(12) Intrauterine System (IUS) or Intrauterine Device (IUD)
Suppresses the growth of the endometrium by continuously releasing luteal hormone (progesterone) into the uterus. Used for the treatment of menorrhagia and dysmenorrhea, and as a long-term contraception method.
INTERVIEWEES
Mihyon Song (宋美玄)
Obstetrician and gynecologist, doctor of medicine (MD), ultrasound doctor certified by FMF (Fetal Medicine Foundation). Opened the “Maru no uchi no mori Ladies Clinic” in 2017.
Author of the best-selling book “女医が教える本当に気持ちのいいセックス” (“Female Doctor teaches: How to have really good sex”, not available in english) and many others.
Ayaka Wada (和田彩花)
Idol. Graduated in August, 2019 from Angerme, and Hello! Project as well. While continuing her activities as an idol, she talks about her college knowledge about art, gender and feminism on her social media.
Amina Sugimoto (杉本亜美奈)
CEO of “Fermata”, a company that work solving issues, giving support and selling products for women’s wellness. Doctor of Public Health (DrPH). Specializes in policy advice and market entry support for medical and healthcare startups.
