A bloody good resource

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This article was published 03/02/2024 (589 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Although Dr. Jen Gunter became internet famous by being known as Twitter’s resident gynecologist, she’s currently on every social media platform, along with her website TheVajenda.com and the Body Stuff podcast. Her goal? To ensure women have scientifically backed information to help them navigate medical decisions with facts, not shame.

Her latest work, Blood: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation, is her fourth book. She’s also written The Menopause Manifesto, The Vagina Bible and The Preemie Primer.

Dr. Gunter’s medical knowledge runs deep. In addition to being an obstetrician and gynecologist, she’s also a pain medicine physician. With 30 years of experience, her writing has appeared in academic publications as well as in the New York Times, the Cut, USA Today and Self. She was born and raised in Winnipeg and currently resides in San Francisco.

Like The Vagina Bible, Blood involves debunking myths propagated by the patriarchy (and the Greeks, as it turns out), highlighting outdated medical practices and exposing the potential dangers associated with the wellness industry.

She relishes exposing fraudsters who offer women unnecessary and dangerous health products peddled as “natural.” One of her famous foes is Gwyneth Paltrow and the products her Goop wellness company pitches to gullible women. (Search for Dr. Gunter’s response to Goop’s selling of vaginal jade eggs for the medical smackdown.) She’s also no fan of naturopaths or functional medicine practitioners.

Blood is very much a medical textbook. From painful periods to period underwear, there’s a wealth of menstruation information. Depending on a woman’s individual needs, certain chapters may be more relevant depending on symptoms. Like her previous books, there’s a “bottom line” section at the end of each chapter that sums up key points.

Dr. Gunter covers a vast array of topics too long to list, but some medical issues include premenstrual syndrome, birth control (both planned and emergency), polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis.

Accompanying detailed medical facts, Dr. Gunter busts a myriad of myths: the moon doesn’t regulate menstruation; women’s cycles won’t sync if they spend a lot of time together; blood is not toxic.

A fierce advocate for women’s health issues, Dr. Gunter takes aim at the pejorative and patently false term “feminine hygiene products:” “They are not ‘feminine hygiene’ products, because needing them is not a sign of being feminine; it’s a sign that you need something to catch blood. Menstruating is hygienic.” She wants everyone, including retailers, to use the term “menstrual products.”

Blood also contains important social commentary about the true cost of menstrual products. “Without menstrual products, children, teens, and adults who menstruate are forced to socially isolate during menstruation, or risk going out and soaking their clothes. [This] can affect schooling, the ability to support oneself financially, and even health. Period poverty is a real concern worldwide.”

She adds that in the United States, the menstrual products industry generates US$3 billion per year and in one survey, 60 per cent of people said they needed to budget to afford menstrual products. She gives a shout-out to Canada as one of the countries that does not tax menstrual products.

In the age of self-diagnosis via web searches or being influenced by influencers, resources like Blood will empower women with the facts they need — to spot the snake oil and to bring to their fully realized and researched symptoms to their healthcare provider.

Deborah Bowers is thankful resources such as Blood exist — especially for younger women. As a teenager, she learned about menstruation by comparing notes with girlfriends and reading Judy Blume novels.

Dr. Jen Gunter launches Blood in Winnipeg on March 8 (International Women’s Day) at 7 p.m. at the Muriel Richardson Auditorium at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, where she’ll be joined in conversation with Dr. Joss Reimer. Tickets are sold out.