Topic: Dr. Jen Gunter on ‘The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation’
Dr. Jen Gunter returned to the Rotman School of Management to discuss her latest book, Blood: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation (Random House Canada Jan. 23 2024) with GATE’s Founding Director, Dr. Sarah Kaplan. (She visited us in 2019 to discuss her book, The Vagina Bible and in 2021 to discuss her book Menopause Manifesto).
Most women can expect to have hundreds of periods in a lifetime. Yet few are given the tools to understand the science of their own cycle, how it changes over their lifetime, and how it connects to their overall health. Together, Dr. Gunter and Dr. Kaplan had an animated discussion about the historical and social myths about menstruation and the impact that misinformation and stigmatization have had on women’s health, economic empowerment, and the society.
Dr. Gunter also highlights the connections between menstruation and the health risks associated with pregnancy, birth control and abortion, encouraging the audience to think about abortion in a different light. She emphasized that when access to abortion is restricted, the maternal mortality rate goes up, and women face higher rates of poverty and economic uncertainty.
“It’s really important that the concept of abortion is introduced early as if it’s no big deal – because it is no big deal. It should be free and available to everybody. The ability to choose your reproductive path should be a human right.”
– Jen Gunter
We will turn the recording of this event into a special episode of our signature myth-busting podcast, BUSTED Season 3, which is on Apple Podcast and Spotify. Stay tuned!
Watch Dr. Jen Gunter speak about why she included abortion in a book about periods