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The new apps that are really empowering women and our bodies

Lady Speak
  Empowered: New apps Photo: Courtesy

There were times in the past when many subjects were taboo though it is hard to remember now. One of the most unmentionable was a woman’s body and how it works.

For example, my mother and I never had a conversation about ­ menstruation – or its implication of fertility – it just seemed to happen.

I’ve written books for teenage girls so that they can get to know their own body, respect it, look after it and cherish it. But nothing I wrote could possibly have had the impact that new apps for girls are having right now.

How I wish I’d had access to them all those years ago.

Today’s young adults aren’t ­embarrassed to face feminine mystique head on. In fact, they’re seeking out social media to talk, tweet and text about their periods.

Everybody’s talking. I’ve heard singers and artists refer to menstruation in their work and athletes mention it in ­interviews and press conferences. Two New York City high school girls have now come up with a video game called Tampon Run where the heroine is on a mission “to rid the world of the menstrual taboo”.

There are more than 200 different period tracker apps and the two most popular have been downloaded more than 10 million times from the Android store alone.

And the apps go further than just tracking when your period is due, recording cramps, emotions, weight, sleep, energy and food cravings too.

They can also record when you had sex or remind you to pack some tampons, take your birth control pill or check your breasts, all of which are empowering.

When women see technology that’s been developed for them, it frees them to talk and think about periods.

One user says: “If we as a society say women should be checking in on their periods and we give them permission to talk about it, I’m convinced it will be beneficial for women’s health.”

But here’s a warning: the ovulation tracker and fertility predictor shouldn’t be relied on for birth control. Trackers have very high failure rates, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, with up to one in four women becoming pregnant over a year.

Hannah Ransom of the Fertility ­Institute in San Diego, says: “Apps are a tool, not a birth control method.”

But the last word goes to Ida Tin, who founded Clue, one of the fastest growing period tracker apps: “If you just have the data about what is going on in your body, it’s a navigating tool for your life.”

 

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