The Cost of ‘Natural’ Womanhood
Online influencers and wellness advocates are promoting the idea that ovulation and natural menstrual cycles are essential to women's health, femininity, and emotional well-being. They often frame hormonal birth control as disruptive to this 'natural' state, despite limited scientific evidence supporting many of their claims. This trend encourages consumerism through cycle-tracking apps, specialty products, and hormone testing, while potentially overstating the emotional and physical benefits of ovulation.
- ▪Influencers and hormone coaches claim that ovulation is a 'superpower' and a key to feminine identity.
- ▪Birth control methods that suppress ovulation are increasingly portrayed as harmful to women's natural hormonal balance.
- ▪Cycle-tracking apps and specialty products are marketed to align with each phase of the menstrual cycle.
- ▪Scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of many hormone tests and tracking devices is limited or mixed.
- ▪Some public figures, like singer Lorde, have publicly endorsed going off birth control to experience ovulation.
- ▪The narrative often exaggerates hormonal effects on mood and behavior, despite real conditions like PMDD and PCOS affecting some women.
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HealthThe Internet Is Obsessed With OvulationWhat’s so great about a “natural” menstrual cycle?By Andréa BeckerIllustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty.May 3, 2026, 8 AM ET ShareSave Supposedly, the menstrual cycle is a gift. It’s a product of good design. It’s a miraculous dance of hormones that can’t be contained. Such are the messages flooding the internet these days, courtesy of lifestyle influencers, crunchy moms, so-called hormone coaches, and all sorts of popular entertainers.The menstrual cycle, according to these same voices, is also an emotional roller coaster, best ridden with the aid of bespoke products.
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