Beyond Bleeding: How Period Tracking Apps Redefine Health

Send us Fan MailDr. Andrea Ford, cultural and medical anthropologist, explores the fascinating world of femtech and period tracking apps, revealing how these technologies are transforming our understanding of bodies, health, and gender. The conversation examines how these digital tools function within surveillance capitalism while promising personal empowerment through data collection.• Period tracking has evolved beyond fertility planning to become a comprehensive approach to "hormonal health"• Femtech represents a $50 billion industry that includes apps, wearables, and AI-driven health platforms• Users track not just bleeding but hundreds of metrics including mood, energy, and physical symptoms• Post-Roe v. Wade concerns about data privacy have prompted many to delete tracking apps• "Cycle syncing" encourages planning work and social activities around hormonal phases• Female tech founders face significant barriers in the male-dominated venture capital world• Period tracking sits at feminism's central tension: celebrating biological differences versus transcending them• Newer approaches to menstruation frame it as inflammatory rather than hormonal• The menopause tech boom reflects changing attitudes about women's health across the lifespanCheck out Dr. Ford's Wellcome Trust-funded research investigating the femtech industry, surveillance concerns, and how digital health is reshaping our relationship with our bodies.Undisciplinary - a podcast that talks across the boundaries of history, ethics, and the politics of health. Follow us on Twitter @undisciplinary_ or email questions for "mailbag episodes" [email protected]