From perimenopause to periods, pelvic floor to postnatal depression, there are too many issues affecting women that are still considered taboo.
Here at HELLO! we're working hard to destigmatise these topics and talking openly about them is the first step. By discussing these subjects without shame, we can contribute to normalising the conversation around them and hopefully help people feel more comfortable.
Through our work bringing these topics into the light, we've met and spoken to some truly fascinating women, working hard to bust taboos around periods, intimate health and pelvic floor. Read on for their stories.
Coco Berlin: Busting the taboo around pelvic floor issues
Coco Berlin is a former dancer and pelvic floor expert, and after a 30-minute chat with her, I felt more well-informed about the pelvic floor than I ever thought possible.
Her mission is to destigmatise the taboo around pelvic floor issues, by making sure women are educated on how big the pelvic floor is (she whacked out a model of a skeleton during our chat to illustrate just how sizeable it is!) and even teaches Pelvic Floor Integration, imparting wisdom to women on how to fully feel, activate and relax all layers of their pelvic floor.
Coco explains that women wait on average nine years before seeking help with pelvic floor issues, which can in turn lead to depression and social anxiety - hence the importance of shutting down the taboo.
The thing I found most fascinating from my chat with Coco, is that holding in our stomach (which many of us do much of the time) can spell trouble for our pelvic floors. "We're trained to be ashamed of our bellies," Coco laments, adding that with every breath we take, we're training our pelvic floor. But if we hold in our stomach, our organs such as our diaphragm, lungs and heart are held in place rather than allowed to expand and relax, which then impedes our abs and our pelvic floor from doing their jobs.
"You're basically stopping the entire system from working!" Coco says. By continuing to talk candidly about pelvic floor health, Coco hopes to bust the taboo around the topic, telling me: "Talking takes away the shame, making us more authentic to ourselves."
Find out more about working with Coco.
Dr. Hedieh Asadi: Busting the taboo around intimate hygiene
Dr. Hedieh Asadi founded ultra-chic intimate health brand DeoDoc. The brand offers intimate wash, wipes, shaving foam and deodorant, all in pretty packaging that you want on display – and that's just the first way that Dr. Hedieh is helping to dispel shame around intimate hygiene.
She points out that a lack of understanding of female anatomy is to blame for the taboo around intimate health, and the better educated we are on our anatomy, the less of a taboo it will become.
READ: Why we really need to talk about vaginal health
"It's a cocktail of misconception and lack of knowledge that makes intimate hygiene a taboo," she says. "There's a huge lack of knowledge of female anatomy. We lack the knowledge and the words to even describe the female anatomy correctly, so it adds to the stigma and the taboo.
"I don't want to see another generation of women growing up not knowing about their own female anatomy and their health."
Dr. Hedieh explains that our vulva has the same sweat glands as our armpits, so it's normal for the area to smell, which is the biggest concern for most of her clients.
By creating products to tackle this, DeoDoc hope that people will feel more comfortable talking about it, knowing they're not alone. "Intimate care should be self-care," Dr. Hedieh says. "Because it doesn't matter how good your hair looks, if you're uncomfortable down there, you'll never feel good."
READ: Why are women expected to stop having fun in our thirties?
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh: Busting the menstrual taboos
© GettyDuchess Sophie is a trailblazer in the royal family, openly talking about her own experience with menopause as well as shining the spotlight on periods.
Breaking the taboo around menstrual health issues, Sophie, 59, joined a myth-busting workshop at Harris Girls Academy in January, speaking openly on a topic often avoided.
When asked what comes to mind when talking about periods, the Duchess candidly said: "When you have heavy periods worrying about when you stand up from a chair. That's the worst one."
© GettyShe added that period products should be on display at home rather than locked in a cupboard, saying: "Let’s get them out of the closet."
"When a high-profile figure, such as a member of the royal family, speaks out on a 'taboo' subject, it makes headlines or is given widespread coverage, bringing it to the forefront of the public's minds," says HELLO!'s royal reporter Danielle Stacey, when we asked her why it's so important for the royals to speak out on taboo topics.
"If someone like the Duchess of Edinburgh can be so open about talking about menstrual issues and the menopause, then it may open up more conversations between family, friends, colleagues or be a talking point in schools and universities.
"It's incredible that the royal family are speaking out on issues that have a perceived stigma around them because it can help raise awareness."
Here's to more women speaking openly about taboos!
Visit HELLO!'s Out Loud hub for more inspiring, stigma-erasing stories.
