{"id":1044752,"date":"2026-06-23T10:12:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T10:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1044752\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T10:12:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T10:12:17","slug":"the-shocking-reality-of-gen-z-period-shame-one-in-three-skip-the-gp-and-turn-to-ai-for-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1044752\/","title":{"rendered":"The shocking reality of Gen Z period shame – one in three skip the GP and turn to AI for advice\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Period shame and stigma are pushing Gen Z to technology for answers, not GPs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A staggering one in three Gen Zers are turning to AI chatbots, online forums and social media for period advice to avoid speaking to their GP, a new report has revealed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Period stigma means young people are reportedly suffering in silence or relying on technology which can risk misinformation.<\/p>\n

The Red Report<\/a> \u2013 published this month by menstrual health charity Irise International \u2013 exposed a stark \u2018menstrual literacy gap\u2019 now gripping the UK.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This gap is not just about the right anatomical knowledge, but the language and confidence needed for young people to speak up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One anonymous respondent said: \u201cI have suffered with paralysing cramps, but still go to school as it feels like a superficial reason to stay off.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI also feel embarrassed to go to the GP.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

TAKING ACTION: Irise International says we can all do things to minimise the stigma and shame associated with periods (Video credit: Elsa Nightingale)<\/p>\n

The report suggests that 25% of all adults who menstruate feel uncomfortable discussing their periods with GPs. However, for Gen Z, this embarrassment is triggered by a significant shift in favour of digital diagnosis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chrissy Cattle, CEO of Irise International, warned that relying on the internet can leave vulnerable young people exposed to misinformation.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cWords closely associated with menstruation are often shadow-banned or can link to irrelevant or upsetting content, so it can be difficult to know which sources to trust online.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of seeking help, many people are suffering in silence, experiencing shame or guessing what they should do about symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

PERIOD STIGMA: The shame and stigma surrounding periods is reportedly deep-seated in the UK (Image credit: Elsa Nightingale)<\/p>\n

The report says the shame often begins in the classroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One student told Irise International: \u201cMy teacher told me to stop talking about my period because it\u2019s disgusting when I asked someone quietly if they had a spare tampon.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 28 page report also said euphemisms for periods don\u2019t help \u2013 like \u2018Aunt Flo\u2019 or \u2018Shark Week\u2019. <\/p>\n

One positive takeaway is that younger generations are increasingly likely to speak to their fathers about periods. <\/p>\n

However, the report also says male discomfort remains a significant barrier. A staggering half of the men surveyed (49%) admitted they were uncomfortable purchasing period products. But if a man feels knowledgeable about menstruation, he is up to five times more likely to talk about them openly with family members, friends and colleagues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

KNOWLEDGE EQUALS ACTION: When a father feels knowledgeable, his comfort purchasing period products and discussing them openly significantly increases \u2013 having a positive impact on all genders (Image credit: Elsa Nightingale)<\/p>\n

Another anonymous participant recalled realising she had no tampons at her father\u2019s house \u2013 but feeling too embarrassed to ask him \u201cbecause he\u2019s a man\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Irise said there is urgent need for offline support through initiatives like \u2018Period Confident Schools\u2019 \u2013 a specialised initiative<\/a> designed to help tackle period poverty, end period shame and ensure free menstrual products without barriers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The charity spoke about the need to normalise carrying period products in public, talk openly about periods in front of all genders, and educate all genders about periods in schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cattle said: \u201cOver half of the population will menstruate at some time in their lives \u2014 that anyone feels shame for having a period needs to change.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiteracy isn\u2019t about how much you know, it\u2019s about confidence in using what you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to read the full report.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Featured image credit: Elsa Nightingale<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Period shame and stigma are pushing Gen Z to technology for answers, not GPs.\u00a0\u00a0 A staggering one in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1044753,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8817],"tags":[748,393,24612,6781,4884,66355,62358,48414,1620,22473,287514,16,15],"class_list":["post-1044752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sheffield","tag-britain","tag-england","tag-fathers","tag-gen-z","tag-great-britain","tag-menstruation","tag-period","tag-shame","tag-sheffield","tag-stigma","tag-tampons","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116798891602864009","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1044752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1044752"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1044752\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1044753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1044752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1044752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1044752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}