Is the conversation about women’s reproductive health reaching a fever pitch in India?

Conversations around women’s sexual and reproductive health may not appear in the top online searches but some doctors and informed influencers on social media are attempting to change that

Vaginal lightening. Underarm pigmentation. Vaginal tightening. The top searches for women’s reproductive health usually toss up Youtube videos on these topics. Information on fertility, the life-saving vaccine for cervical cancer and identifying endometriosis or Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) lies buried in the detritus. Awareness and conversations around women’s reproductive and sexual health don’t appear in the top searches online, but there are some doctors trying to change that.

Judgemental and culturally orthodox gynaecologists have been one of the main hindrances in creating awareness around women’s reproductive health in India. Doctors have been known to prescribe ‘marriage’ as a ‘cure’ for PCOS. But now, in 2022, there are Reddit threads dedicated to recommendations of non-judgemental doctors. And as far as knowledge around PMDD, PCOS, endometriosis and egg-freezing is concerned, there are not only smart, responsible and expert social media influencers sharing information and experience, but there is also a whole femtech industry flooding our social media feeds with memes, with brands trying their best to normalise conversations that were once–and still are–hush hush.

Safe spaces

Nua Woman, founded by Ravi Ramachandran, is a company that sells products related to menstrual health and hygiene, with a very active blog and Instagram feed highlighting reproductive health and wellness. Their Instagram feed has built a small community sharing memes and posts on the spectrum of gender, while also addressing statements like ‘hymens break when you have sex’ and ‘not wearing a bra leads to sagging breasts’. “We capture all aspects around menstrual hygiene and wellness, from education and awareness to sharing our opinion on divisive issues, and to do both these otherwise lofty tasks in a manner that does not intimidate our audience. Our approach has always been real, warm, positive, hopeful and a little light-hearted,” says Nameeta Saigal, Head of Marketing at Nua Woman. So much so that a teenager messaged them to ask for help when she got her first period. “Unfortunately her mother had passed away a few months ago, so she turned to us for support,” says Saigal. “We had an enhanced sense of purpose and responsibility,” she shared.

The voices creating communities

This is the gap that social media has filled in. Instagram has plenty of sex educators and doctors, most of whom are trying to be responsible and cautious about normalising topics on sexual health and wellness, particularly those concerning women. “It’s not that women are wilfully ignorant, it’s just that this type of information has been systemically denied to them,” says Leeza Mangaldas, who has a following of 843K, thanks to her frank deep-dives into safe and pleasurable sexual experiences, health and wellness. “There’s an internalised misogyny where I feel women sometimes don’t feel entitled to this information. ‘Good girls shouldn’t ask questions about sex or want to know about contraception, or find out about masturbation.’ As if there is something unwomanly or bad or slutty or weird about a woman who is assertive or proactive or interested in learning and talking about her sexual health or anatomy,” adds Mangaldas.

Doctors like Dr Cuterus (924K followers on Instagram) have amusing but extremely informative reels, making sex-related topics instantly accessible—she’s answering questions about where the clitoris is exactly located and whether you can get the vaccine against cervical cancer.

Based in Rajasthan, Fertility Scribbles is Dr Prateek Makwana, on Instagram with 68.3K followers. He shares multilingual videos on UTIs, STIs and emergency contraception, and dispels myths like ‘masturbation causes muscle loss’.

Social media is creating a much needed safe space with influencers like Dr Makwana and Dr Jhaveri, educators like Mangaldas and Fem Tech start-ups like Nua Woman. A quick search will throw up dozens more. Agents of Ishq (25.7K followers) and Love Matters India (28.1K followers) are both bilingual accounts that have taken on the role of sex and gender education, Neha Bhat is a licensed sex and trauma psychotherapist with 51.5K followers who speaks about the trauma of sexual assault as well as sex and healing. Meanwhile Talk You Never Got, aka Karishma, with a following of 52.6K followers, addresses STI tests, erotic temple carvings, HPV vaccine age cut-offs, and internal condoms.

The dark side of social media communities

For every responsible, committed and educated voice speaking out about what are perceived as taboo topics, there are many irresponsible voices with larger followings, often making and sharing videos that are dangerous. A popular Youtube creator recently made a video about how women can “cure PCOS permanently with a jar of moon charged water”. Another self-appointed wellness expert put up a post claiming PCOS is a result of peer pressure. He was forced to remove the post after a collective of gynaecologists protested the hazards it presented by being entirely rubbish. Some countries are trying to change this—for instance, China has recently introduced a code of conduct for social media content on law, finance and medicine, and influencers online must have valid qualifications to speak on these topics. While the act is commendable and will stop PCOS-curing moon-charged water peddlers, a lot of safe spaces have been created by people who don’t necessarily hold the degrees or qualifications but are committed to the message enough that they go the distance and do the due diligence. Mangaldas is one of them. “I’ve educated myself, obviously. I’m not talking out of my hat. Of course, there’s a responsibility. I also consult with doctors and activists and various experts to ensure that I’m reflecting perspectives other than just my own,” she says.

There’s no doubt that it’s social media that’s been most influential in changing perceptions. “We’ve made considerable headway—even though we have a long way to go—in talking about menstruation, for example,” says Mangaldas. “People are making reels about menstrual cups, talking about sustainable options.” It’s not perfect but it’s something in the right direction. Fertility, protection, consent, pleasure, pain, ageing bodies—conversations do exist in reels and memes currently, but need to affect us through policy and medical acknowledgment. Marriage and pregnancy cannot be the only solutions offered to women suffering from reproductive disorders. Female pain needs to be immediately relieved and examined. Everyone needs to know the difference between the vagina and vulva, and the fact that the vaginal canal is self-cleansing. Also that sagging breasts and pigmented genital areas are normal. And sex should be consensual and pleasurable.

It’s a stab in the dark but the steadily increasing number of followers of the loud voices online might be a sign of how infectious they can be. And the louder the voices get, the more normal taboo topics get, and the bigger the communities get, culminating in that elusive dream—a seismic cultural shift and healthy, happy women.

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