Dr Jen Gunter is a gynaecologist, best-selling author, and someone who tells it like it is, especially when it comes to misinformation and disinformation on social media.
I’ve been following her work for years now, especially the takes she shares on Twitter, where back in 2016, she was referred to as the platform’s “resident gynecologist on abortion, politics and googling your symptoms” by New York Magazine.
Of course, much has changed since 2016.
Twitter has become X, Donald Trump has been president, the world witnessed a pandemic, abortion rights in the United States have been upended and the level of misinformation and disinformation spreading across social media has ramped up.
More people are seeking health information from social media than ever before, with Instagram now boasting more than 1.4 billion active users compared with 500 million eight years ago.
Social media has potential for good and harm, especially when it comes to women’s health. It’s a place where vital information can be shared – and there are plenty of great examples, especially of obstetricians and gynecologists sharing great advice, but it’s also a place for “confirmation bias” as well as for opportunists to exploit vulnerable women.
The rise of reels in recent years has made the information even more problematic and addictive to seek out.
Dr Gunter fights to debunk the myths about reproductive health and aims to educate and empower women to better understand their menstrual cycles and menopause.
I spoke with Dr. Gunter before she arrived in Australia this week for National Science Week at UNSW and the Festival of Dangerous Ideas.
Dr Gunter sees endless “medical myths” spread on social media which she says often have a patriarchal subtext, especially when it comes to abortion lies and disinformation about hormonal contraception.
Asked what myths about women’s health she wants to debunk in Australia – she says the list is endless but she hopes to demonstrate how more of us need to get to the source of the myth.
“I would say, be wary of the source, the funding and the deeper connotations behind the myth. Where there are supplements, there are conspiracy theories,” she says.
“Also, keep in mind the question, ‘What does this person gain from promoting this product, from selling this, and is this somebody that I want to give my time and money to?
Social media can be incredibly useful, but we do need to have a mindful approach.
“From a women’s health perspective, specifically, be really mindful of messages that sound like feminism but are actually really patriarchal underneath,” Dr Gunter says.
“There’s a lot of what I’d call stealth patriarchy, putting a pink bow on something and showing photos of a woman walking in a field doesn’t make it feminism, and there’s a lot of performative feminism online – including from women selling products you don’t need. That performative feminism. Women who are telling you lies about your bodies, that’s performative feminism. A feminist doesn’t want you to be less informed.”
She says social media can bring people into contact with medical professionals and the experts they need. “But there are also people who believe disinformation about the pill, or believe that the colour of your menstrual blood can tell you something, and they get sucked into buying this person’s course for $999 and that enters them into a world of supplements and more disinformation and conspiracy theories.”
Dr Gunter takes the example of menopause and the “doom and gloom” around the topic that is frequently shared. “If you believed a lot of some very prominent physicians on social media, you would think that every woman dropped dead at 55.”
Fear is currency on social media. It gets people engaged, and when it comes to their own personal circumstances, they seek out solutions and answers, including forking out plenty of money in the process.
“Every single time I get on Facebook, I see an ad from a physician who’s selling a supplement for menopause,” Dr Gunter says
“And you know, in the United States anyway, you can make millions of dollars with almost no cash outlay on your part, from selling supplements.
“So it’s really sad to see that fear sells, and fear gets the page clicks. Yes, there are lots of people who have symptoms of menopause. There are people who have terrible symptoms, there are people who don’t really have any symptoms or have minor symptoms.”
When it comes to menopause, just like with pregnancy and puberty, people can have vastly different experiences and everything needs to be in the context of the individual.
“That’s the problem with social media, there is no nuance. If you go to a doctor, you can talk and tease out what you’re experiencing and possible treatment options.”
Gunter also looks at what’s been shared on longevity – on social media and especially in the podcasting space, where it’s typically dominated by men.
“This is very much big in the bro spaces, and it’s really fascinating to me. This manosphere. What’s with them? Ya’ll afraid of death, and you’re not leaving any legacy behind, so you just need to live forever?”
Dr Jen Gunter’s most recent book is Blood: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation. She is also the author of the two New York Times bestsellers, The Vagina Bible and The Menopause Manifesto, and host of the CBC docuseries Jensplaining. Her TED Talk on menstruation was the third most viewed TED Talk of 2020.