Postfeminist healthism: Understanding the gendering of healthism using menstrual tracking apps as an example

Sarah Riley; Adrienne Evans; Martine Robson

doi:10.1111/1467-9566.70116

Postfeminist healthism: Understanding the gendering of healthism using menstrual tracking apps as an example

Sarah Riley
, Adrienne Evans
, Martine Robson

Massey University
Aberystwyth University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

11 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

‘Postfeminist healthism’ offers an essential framework for understanding how healthism is gendered. In this article, we describe and advance the concept of postfeminist sensibility and its synergistic alignments with healthism. We then consider how postfeminist healthism operates as a subjectifying force for the millions of girls, women, and other feminine-identified people globally — even when it harms their mental or physical health. We use menstrual tracking apps (MTAs) as an indicative example to both demonstrate how a postfeminist healthism acts at the intersections of bodies, subjectivity, and health, and to show the value of a postfeminist healthism in understanding MTAs. Overall, we show the importance of understanding the distinct ways in which healthism is gendered through postfeminism.

Original language	English
Article number	e70116
Pages (from-to)	1-11
Number of pages	11
Journal	Sociology of Health and Illness
Volume	47
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.70116
Publication status	Published - 16 Nov 2025

Bibliographical note

© 2025 The Author(s). Sociology of Health & Illness published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/),
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited..

Funding

The research data comes from cooperative inquiry group discussions with people living in Aotearoa New Zealand using MTA, funded by the Royal Society Te Apārangi, grant number MFP‐MAU2210.

Funders	Funder number
Royal Society Te Apārangi	MFP‐MAU2210

Keywords

gender
healthism
menstrual tracking apps
postfeminist healthism
postfeminist sensibility

Access to Document

10.1111/1467-9566.70116Licence: CC BY

Postfeminist healthism - final sent plus corrections[1]Accepted author manuscript, 95.6 KB
Evans2025VoRFinal published version, 529 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Postfeminist healthism: Understanding the gendering of healthism using menstrual tracking apps as an example",

abstract = "{\textquoteleft}Postfeminist healthism{\textquoteright} offers an essential framework for understanding how healthism is gendered. In this article, we describe and advance the concept of postfeminist sensibility and its synergistic alignments with healthism. We then consider how postfeminist healthism operates as a subjectifying force for the millions of girls, women, and other feminine-identified people globally — even when it harms their mental or physical health. We use menstrual tracking apps (MTAs) as an indicative example to both demonstrate how a postfeminist healthism acts at the intersections of bodies, subjectivity, and health, and to show the value of a postfeminist healthism in understanding MTAs. Overall, we show the importance of understanding the distinct ways in which healthism is gendered through postfeminism.",

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N1 - © 2025 The Author(s). Sociology of Health & Illness published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited..

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N2 - ‘Postfeminist healthism’ offers an essential framework for understanding how healthism is gendered. In this article, we describe and advance the concept of postfeminist sensibility and its synergistic alignments with healthism. We then consider how postfeminist healthism operates as a subjectifying force for the millions of girls, women, and other feminine-identified people globally — even when it harms their mental or physical health. We use menstrual tracking apps (MTAs) as an indicative example to both demonstrate how a postfeminist healthism acts at the intersections of bodies, subjectivity, and health, and to show the value of a postfeminist healthism in understanding MTAs. Overall, we show the importance of understanding the distinct ways in which healthism is gendered through postfeminism.

AB - ‘Postfeminist healthism’ offers an essential framework for understanding how healthism is gendered. In this article, we describe and advance the concept of postfeminist sensibility and its synergistic alignments with healthism. We then consider how postfeminist healthism operates as a subjectifying force for the millions of girls, women, and other feminine-identified people globally — even when it harms their mental or physical health. We use menstrual tracking apps (MTAs) as an indicative example to both demonstrate how a postfeminist healthism acts at the intersections of bodies, subjectivity, and health, and to show the value of a postfeminist healthism in understanding MTAs. Overall, we show the importance of understanding the distinct ways in which healthism is gendered through postfeminism.

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M1 - e70116

ER -

Postfeminist healthism: Understanding the gendering of healthism using menstrual tracking apps as an example

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

The intimate technology shaping millions of lives: Exploring the possibilities of menstruation and perimenopause tracking apps for people with diverse embodied experiences

“It Just Adds More Fuel to the Weak Woman Fire”: Perimenopausal “Excuses”, Feminist Dilemmas, and the Politics of Menstruation Tracking Apps

Cite this

Postfeminist healthism: Understanding the gendering of healthism using menstrual tracking apps as an example

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Projects

The intimate technology shaping millions of lives: Exploring the possibilities of menstruation and perimenopause tracking apps for people with diverse embodied experiences

Research output

“It Just Adds More Fuel to the Weak Woman Fire”: Perimenopausal “Excuses”, Feminist Dilemmas, and the Politics of Menstruation Tracking Apps

Cite this