Women’s Health & Wellbeing Talk

Women's Health & Wellbeing | May Community call recap and report

EYESTORM CONNECT & COLLAB

MAY 2024

What a fabulous EyeStorm Women Connect & Collab meeting we had – thank you so much everyone who joined and took part in the discussion around Women’s Health & Wellbeing – WOW!

Connect & Collab is the free monthly community call held on Zoom every last Wednesday of the month from 12-13.15 (Uk time), and is open for all women in our EyeStorm Women Community.

We had so little time and it’s incredible how much we still managed to cover, and we all felt we could have continued discussing this all day…

We wanted to home in on what currently isn’t working for women within health & wellbeing, with the aim to not just discuss the problems, but what we actually want Future Women to be and feel like, without these issues, so we can come up with constructive suggestions on necessary change.

We were guided by three topics;

· The Weight of Domestic Juggle

· Unfair or Misguided Treatments (from menstruation and pregnancy to menopause)

· Domestic and Situational Abuse and Aggression

Divided into small groups in separate rooms, we discussed what resonated most individually.

One room focussed on the ebb and flow of the menstrual cycle hormones. They talked about how few women really understand their hormonal changes – and the impact of this (on behaviour and physiology) the and potential strengths.

Applauding more open conversations about periods and making period products more accessible, we now need to deepen the conversation about the hormonal impact and how school, work and other institutions can support women in managing their cycles to better handle commitments, from GCSE’s to board meetings.

How can we progress on this and take charge of the understanding better, how can women plan around their cycles, what rights they have, and how can society help them feel supported throughout their cycles?

Do we talk enough about potential benefits of menopause?

One room discussed the decrease of empathy and the lack of respect since lockdown, and lack of spatial awareness.

The disrespect and vile treatment of older people and the lack of conversation around this.

Social Media contributing to self-centred attitudes and consumerism promoting false ideals that everyone has to be young, thin, pretty and rich to be worthy of attention, leading to either selfish behaviour or lack of self-respect.

How education and parents need to step up to focus on the importance of treating other people with respect, care and consideration.

How adults need to be re-educated on this.

They talked about the effect of the segregation within families, with elderly being shielded during lockdown and our community not encouraging young and older people to connect anymore.

One room discussed how we unhook the shame of: menstruation, childlessness not through choice, the need to clean, menopause, abuse…

…and how bitchiness ‘keep us weak’ and is part of the patriarchy!

One Room talked about the burden of women’s chores – that the responsibility always falls on the woman to plan, prepare, to pick up the pieces, and the disrespect this creates

Why do men get away with this, how can we develop boys (and girls!) who are not biased, what happens if we let go?

Back in the Main Room, we spoke about the importance of VOTING and how women need to find their own voice and opinion, rather than following their media “bubble” headlines and the opinion of their husbands’/fathers’ votes, that in fact often discriminate against women. Without the knowledge of what women are voting for, they are voting against themselves.

We all agreed on supporting one of our members to do their PR Stunt for voting – here they are!

The Modern Suffragette UK

https://eyestorm.org.uk/eyestorm-connect