Influencers fuel online obsession with ovulation and natural menstrual cycles
Updated
Updated · The Atlantic · May 3
Influencers fuel online obsession with ovulation and natural menstrual cycles
5 articles · Updated · The Atlantic · May 3
Posts by hormone coaches, entertainers and brands push cycle-tracking apps, hormone tests and products while portraying birth control as suppressing women’s “superpower” of ovulation.
The report says hormones do affect mood, but creators overstate their effects and risk discouraging treatment for PMDD, endometriosis, fibroids and PCOS, while undermining confidence in safe hormonal medicines.
It argues the trend exploits gaps in women’s health research, aligns with conservative pronatalist politics, and could increase unwanted pregnancies and reinforce stereotypes that women are biologically unstable.
Could the rise of unregulated hormone coaches and 'natural' menstrual cycle narratives actually jeopardize women's health and societal standing rather than empower them?
How reliable are claims that the menstrual cycle is a 'superpower', and what does scientific evidence really say about mood and motivation changes?
Cycle Syncing and FemTech Boom: Navigating Viral Trends, Scientific Gaps, and Health Risks
Overview
Between 2023 and 2026, social media sparked a surge in menstrual health content, driving the mainstream rise of cycle syncing, a trend promoted by influencer Alisa Vitti and supported by community-driven clinical studies. This movement grew amid a broader cultural shift toward wellness and skepticism of traditional healthcare, but it also mixed anecdotal advice with weak scientific evidence and overlooked individual hormonal variability. Fertility apps like Natural Cycles capitalized on this wave, emphasizing medical credentials yet facing privacy and effectiveness concerns. These trends reflect deep systemic gaps in women's health research and care, fueling both empowerment and risks of misinformation, commercial exploitation, and reinforcement of gender stereotypes.