Millions of men to remain single by shortage of women by 2020

October 7, 2011  about Uncategorized

LookAtVietnam - Vietnam is facing serious gender imbalance. It is estimated that by 2020, the number of men will be 2.3-4.3 million more than women by 2020.

This will lead to the fact that millions of men may be left on the self and many other consequences like the break of family structure, prostitution, woman trafficking and gender violence.
Social problems caused by gender imbalance was warned at an international seminar held by the Ministry of Health and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on October 5-6. The event attracted 11 countries which are in the same situation as Vietnam, such as China, India, Albania, Nepal, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
According to experts, this situation sources from the male chauvinism and the development of science and technology which allow people to easily choose sex. This matter appeared in South Korea, China and some other countries in the 1980s and it is now in many Asian countries, including Vietnam.
Nguyen Van Tan, vice chief of the General Department of Population – Planning Family said that gender imbalance in Vietnam appeared quite late but it raises fast. Notably, it occurs mainly in the well-off class.
For the poorest group (around 20 percent of population), the rate of newborn male/female babies is 105.2/100, which is very normal, it is 112.9/100 in the richest group and up to 132.9/100 for the third birth delivery, also in this group.
Tan said Vietnam has not performed systematic research of this but it is highly possible that rich people are easy to access to sex selecting technology. The pressure of having a son for maintaining the continuity of family line and inherit asset is heavier. Another reason is this group is rich and highly educated so they do not have many children. With only one or two children, they prefer sons so the driving force for using sex selecting technology is higher than in other groups.
In almost countries in the world, the rate of male/female inborn babies is often from 104-106/100. But the sex imbalance is increasing in some Asian countries in the last 25 years, especially in China and India. Asia is now in shortage of up to 117 million women. It is now a great challenge for Vietnam.
Many experts have warned that without effective intervention, in the next 15-20 years, around 2.3 to 4.3 million of Vietnamese men will be unable to get married with Vietnamese women.
Hoang Thuy

Fool for Love Vietnam comedy film will be screened in 5 US cities

“De Mai Tinh” (Fool for Love), the most recognizable comedy from Vietnam this year will be screened in five cities in the US starting on September 10.

VietNamNet Bridge – “De Mai Tinh” (Fool for Love), the most recognizable comedy from Vietnam this year will be screened in five cities in the US starting on September 10.

International experts work with Vietnamese film crews

A scene from “Fool for Love”

Wave Releasing will distribute the movie in cities that have large Vietnamese communities, including Orange County and San Jose in California, Houston and Dallas in Texas, Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington, D.C.

Introduced in Vietnam on April 23, “Fool for Love” opened the first summer film season in Vietnam and was one of the most financially successful films in Vietnam.

“Fool for Love” has garnered high praise from critics and audience alike. The story follows a captivating tale of humor, trial, and love between a hotel clerk Dung (Dustin Nguyen) and a beautiful lounge singer Mai (Kathy Uyen).  His love causes him to leave his job to chase after her affections, only to find her involved with a wealthy real-estate mogul. Mai becomes torn between Dung and her professional career, which depends on her relationship with the wealthy real-estate mogul.

Kathy Uyen and Dustin Nguyen in “Fool for Love”

Comedy ensues as the penniless clerk, in order to finance his love, is forced to shack up with a very rich but very gay businessman looking for a male companion. Now Dung and Mai are faced with a true test of faith as he continues his pursuit of Mai, while Mai struggles to choose between true love or a stable future with the real estate mogul.  Dung and Mai’s journey is filled with humor and unexpected twists, causing the audience to wonder, ‘Will their love prevail?’

Some scenes from “Fool for Love”:

PV

Brides and Prejudice

Vietnamese men impose a double standard on women by demanding virgin wives while also insisting on engaging in premarital sex, a study finds

A couple kiss at their wedding in Ben Tre Province in the Mekong Delta. Many men in Vietnam want their bride to remain chaste while preferring premarital sex for themselves.

Twenty-six-year-old Dang Thi Mai Phuong admits that she had premarital sex before getting married last year, and she also assumes that Vietnamese men nowadays no longer insist that their wives remain chaste until marriage.

“This is a time when people don’t care about virginity. It’s normal to have sexual relations before marriage,” the Retail Management Service Manager at The Nielsen Company told Thanh Nien Weekly.

However, she said a girl should be aware of possible consequences of premarital sex.

“The public has opened [toward premarital sex] but it doesn’t mean they accept it as easily as in the West,” she said.

Phuong is one of many Vietnamese women who have made choices in the context of the double standard imposed by many local men who consider virginity one of the most important criteria in marriage, but still engage in as much premarital sex as possible.

A recently released survey found there is still a systematic gender inequality in the perceptions and attitudes of Vietnamese men toward men’s and women’s sexuality, in which women are subjected to a much stricter view and more punishment when they are involved in premarital or extramarital sex.

The study conducted in 2007 and announced in May 2010 by the Institute for Social Development Studies surveyed 228 men from Hanoi, the former Ha Tay Province [which was merged into Hanoi in August 2008], and Ho Chi Minh and Can Tho cities, four locations that represent four major political, economic, and social environments of contemporary Vietnam.

The survey, conducted through questionnaire and in-depth interviews, concluded that Vietnamese men believe that they should not be punished equally like women if they take part in premarital or extramarital sex and 45 percent of the respondents admitted that they had sex before marriage, with a large proportion of these men having had sex with prostitutes multiple times.

A culture thing

Vu Thanh Long, a researcher at the Institute for Social Development Studies who is a member of the survey team, said unfair prejudices had been adopted by many Vietnamese people, including women.

“It may not necessarily be selfishness that gives men this attitude toward virginity and marriage. Maybe the notions of masculinity and femininity for Vietnamese men and women cause the situation,” he told Thanh Nien Weekly.

“Most of the time, men are taught and expected to be active, brave, and experienced, while virtuous women are believed to be the passive, obedient, and innocent ones.”

He said Vietnamese women had told the survey that they couldn’t rely on innocent and inexperienced men as a husband and therefore preferred to have a husband that is confident and experienced.

“These perceptions can do nothing but reaffirm the double standards that disadvantage the women.”

Long also said that such notions have repeatedly been reinforced by families, schools, and the media. On the other hand, the scientist said that young generations are more “open” in dealing with premarital sex, cohabitation, and adultery.

Thirty-year-old Nguyen Duy Tuan said he hadn’t had sexual relations and insisted on marrying a virgin girl when he was a student several years ago. However, the PetroVietnam employee said he had since engaged in premarital sex, and his perceptions have changed. He no longer expects to marry a virgin girl anymore.

Pham Thanh Thao, a teacher of Chinese and a translator at the National Sports Training Center 2 in HCMC’s Thu Duc District, said she would accept a husband who had premarital sex. However, the 25- year-old woman said she wants to preserve her virginity until marriage.

“I wouldn’t cross the barriers to do that [have sexual relations] before marriage,” she told Thanh Nien Weekly.

“It is better to allow my boyfriend to make the mistake [of having premarital sex] so that he could be better in the future, rather than having him know nothing about that and be allured [into extramarital sex] later,” Thao said.

Source: Thanh nien