Sexual empowerment coach and the host of The Unapologetic podcast, Jannine MacKinnon, believes that women’s bodies are still surrounded by mystery because we as a society have placed a lot of shame around them.

“Although it's shifting, western culture placed a lot of shame around women's bodies, menstruation, and sexuality, making these subjects hard to talk about openly and keeping conversations behind closed doors. Furthermore, there were very limited studies done on women's bodies, leaving women with limited information to begin with.”

According to the Mental Health Foundation’s survey, around 85% of women feel uncomfortable in their bodies, which prevents them from talking about them or seeking out medical professionals' help when health issues arise.

Even those who gather the courage to talk to a medical professional about their concerns might not receive fair treatment, as before 1993 females weren’t included in clinical trials, and to this day the medical field is still not sure how many drugs and devices work for women. 

Most clinical testing and research has been done on men, as testing on women included too many unstable variables, like fluctuating hormones, and required greater funds to cover both gender studies. However, this is slowly but surely changing by focusing more on health conditions that everybody has but that might be experienced differently by men and women. 

MacKinnon emphasizes that it’s important to understand the female body better. “Women spend an average of 7 years of their lives menstruating and are affected by their hormones throughout their cycles. Something that affects women's energy, fertility, moods, sleep, sexuality, and so much more is worthy of understanding. Women are roughly half of the population, why wouldn't it be important for women to understand their own bodies, and for women and men to understand each other's?”

One way to understand the female body better is to talk about it more with men and women. This will help to normalize these conversations and help educate ourselves and others, says MacKinnon. “Men run on an average 24-hour hormonal cycle, while women run on an average 28-day hormonal cycle. The more women can understand how they're affected by the 4 phases of their cycles, the more they're able to thrive throughout the month and be less negatively impacted by menstruation,” she further explains.

It’s especially important that men get educated on the female body, as they significantly outnumber women in state legislatures, who make decisions that affect women. When male politicians who govern people are uneducated, they may make choices that restrict the liberty of women.

Just like Donald Trump, who, in one of his recent interviews, blurted out that he plans to make birth control much harder to get, particularly for people living in less fortunate conditions. Even though he later denied this, there’s no way to ensure that he won’t commit to it if he gets the presidential chair.

Meanwhile, learning about the female body can make women more comfortable in their own skin. In addition, familiarizing yourself with your own physiology can help make more informed decisions about health. And when women can make autonomous decisions about their bodies, it unburdens half of the population and benefits everyone.