👋🏼 Hey ladies!

Welcome to Bodytalk, where we discuss the realities of women’s health, culture, and more. This is our space: To unpack the double standards, to confront the misinformation, and to open up about the things we’ve been told are “TMI”.

When you think about women’s health issues, you probably think about breast cancer, endometriosis, and PCOS. But you know what we need to be focusing on more? Alzheimer’s.

Women are at higher risk for developing this devastating disease. And while Alzheimer’s typically doesn’t strike until later in life, the epidemic also affects younger women in real ways: Women take on disproportionate amounts of care responsibilities (more on that below!).

Since so many of us will have a parent, spouse, grandparent, sibling, relative, or friend affected by Alzheimer’s, we will likely find ourselves filling that caregiving role, and that takes a major toll on our mental and physical health as well. All that to say? We need to be thinking about Alzheimer’s before we hit old age — and new research offers up some info on how we may be able to reduce our risk of developing the disease, which robs people of so much more than memories.

Speaking of memories: I want to chat about the nostalgic TikTok trend that has millennial girlies in a full chokehold…and, as always, so much more too.

So let’s do it 🗣️

I know firsthand that when it comes to Alzheimer's, there are more questions than answers. Effective, risk-free treatments are pretty much nonexistent, and there's really no way to stop the horror show that is a descent into dementia. In light of that, as someone who has seen how little hope there is once somehow receives a diagnosis of Alzheimer's (which is the most common form of dementia) or another form of dementia, I think a lot about things I can do now, in my 30s, to cut my risk of developing this awful disease.

That's why I'm so interested in recent news (via NBC News) that medical experts are considering the role hormones may play — and how these findings may create pathways for preventative treatments. 

This could potentially have a serious impact. Alzheimer's disease is becoming increasingly common, especially among women: According to the Alzheimer's Association, there are 7 million people in the United States living with Alzheimer's and that number is expected to increase. I've often heard theories that Alzheimer's primarily affects women because women tend to live longer, but emerging research suggests estrogen may play a role. 

So how can this shape our approach to preventing Alzheimer's during midlife? Read more.

🔎 Ask Clara: What role do hormones play in brain health?

I've been loving the "in your 20s" trend that's been all over TikTok recently. If you haven't come across it, here's the gist: Creators are partaking in the trend by shooting video clips and adding text along the lines of "in your 20s, a friend will set you up on a blind date. It's very important that you go on that date". Or "In your 20s, you will be offered a job that terrifies you. It's very important that you take that job". 

The thing about this trend is that it allows us to look back on our lives and reflect on the moments that made us who we are. For some people, the focus is on relationships (think: "In your 20s, you will date a guy who makes you feel small. It's very important that you leave him"). For others, it's on career (think something along the lines of: "In your 20s, everyone will tell you to give up on your dream of becoming a novelist. It's very important you don't listen to them"). 

My love for this trend makes total sense. I'm a millennial woman, as are most people who are partaking in it — and as we all know, millennials are obsessed with nostalgia. That's probably why this reflective look back is such a hit with the women over 30.

Not everyone is as into the trend as I am, though. I've seen some say the trend feels like narcissism and is ruining two great songs ("Piano Man" by Billy Joel and "Silver Springs" by Fleetwood Mac). But like...that's kind of what social media is? It's people bringing their own life experiences to cultural trends. And sure, maybe this trend gives ~main character syndrome~.

But in order to understand why it's striking such a chord with millennial women, it's important to remember the context of millennial womanhood. We are, in many ways, the first generation to exercise a whole range of options. We move to new cities (or even new countries), we get married or get divorced or opt out of marriage entirely, we make career changes, we freeze our eggs, we advocate for the causes we believe in, we start businesses, we endure friend breakups, and we do it all while attempting to navigate this new world that allows us to document our whole evolution on social media. We have the privilege of choices, but also the responsibility of making those chocies — of designing our lives with seemingly unlimited options...and a lot of opinions coming at us constantly via social media. 

We millennial women don’t have a roadmap — but we’re writing a whole new set of rules and documenting them online as we go. Read more.

 🔎 Ask Clara: Why are millennial women so nostalgic?

By now we’ve all heard that women are leaving the traditional workforce in droves. More recently, findings from McKinsey & Co’s Women in the Workplace annual report indicate that for the first time in a decade, fewer women than men are interested in getting promoted at work — which might have just a little something to do with the fact that women aren't receiving enough career support. Ya think?!?

Now, we need to talk about the discourse this report is inspiring. According to many, this tells us that women are just…getting less ambitious. But let’s step back for a second and think about what’s really at play here. Because as usual, the societal tendency is to put the onus on the women rather than considering all the context. 

Since we’re not in the business of blaming women for systemic failures, we need to approach this in a different way.

In 2025, it’s abundantly clear: Women are doing the bulk of the domestic labor and caregiving (whether for their own kids, their aging parents, siblings, friends, etc). No, it’s not just in our heads: There’s plenty of data to back this up.

We’re still seeing a wage gap, still operating under a set of biases, and still living in a world that dismisses our concerns, whether those concerns relate to our health or our lived experiences. In light of all that, why are we still assuming that women have just lost their collective ambition?

In reality, we’ve been forced to rethink the balance of work and life, and we’re constantly finding ways to recalibrate. The problem is, societal ideas about ambition and commitment and dedication to the job haven’t changed to meet this recalibration.

Most women, especially women with caregiving responsibilities, are completely burnt out in a system that does nothing to support them. Of course they’re hesitant to chase longer hours, increased responsibilities, and the mental juggle of acclimating to a new job. Even in cases in which they go after those promotions, they’re still often passed over because they don’t stay at the office until the wee hours or because they can’t attend every evening networking event — not because they’re lazy on unambitious, but because they have multiple other jobs waiting for them at home.

And so women are doing what needs to be done. Read more.

🔎 Ask Clara: Why are women leaving the workforce?

One of the defining elements of millennial womanhood is the range of options that lie before us. We’ve normalized the fluidity of timelines and have generally just rewritten the rules of #adulting for fellow women…yet there are still so many narratives and ideas about the “right” time to make major life moves. And Lucy Hale is here to speak on it. 

Hale has accomplished so much: She’s had a big acting career (most famously, she played Aria on Pretty Little Liars, an absolute millennial pop culture juggernaut), and she’s been really vocal about her own sobriety journey.

But even she isn’t immune to the messages about what a woman in her 30s “should” do. Hale spoke about this on a recent episode of the Know Thyself podcast. 

"I'm 36. I'm not married and I don't have kids….and I just feel like there's a lot of women who probably need to hear that it's okay to not have that,” she said. She also noted that people have ~reactions~ to Hale not being married or a mom at this phase in her life.

Here’s the thing: I got married in my 28s and was a mom by 30. There’s nothing wrong with being married or having kids in your 20s, but there’s also nothing wrong with…not doing it that way. Delaying marriage and parenthood or opting out of them entirely are completely valid options. Read more.

🔎 Ask Clara: Why are Women Delaying Parenthood?