July: great expectations and better pants puns

Great expectations, underwear puns and branding bits of the female bod

1. Working Well

ARRRRRGGGGGGHHH

HHHHHHHHH. The tension. The butterflies. The agony. The glory.

Massive congrats to the Lionesses (and all other competing nations) for a wonderful, legendary tournament. The biggest ever, in fact. More eyeballs, more butts on stadium seats and more drama than ever before.

We might’ve said it doesn’t get better than this but pretty sure we said that last time England women won the Euros. Hmm. So again, a huge well done again to Sarina and co for delivering. Again. Incidentally, since The Well HQ began the Lionesses have won every single European Championship. #JustSayin.

Anyhoo, back on earth we’re going clappers with Emma in Switzerland presenting the adidas menstrual awareness workshop at the Lidl Euros youth football camp before speaking on a panel at the Vitality Blast T20. Baz meanwhile lit up Technogym’s international conference and Bella and co. held the fort back home.

It has been a great month and, via some quirky other happenings in our realm, the size of the female body’s branding problem has come sharply into focus. Read on.

2. The World at Well

Branding problems sponsored by the letter H

Since last we wrote, Wimbledon and the Euros have hoffered hamazing haction, high drahma and hincredible happenings highlighting hypocrisy however happarently harbour harbingers of hope. Hhhhhhhhuh?

Confused? Us too. We’ve been trying to ascertain what people want and expect from women in sport and it’s near impossible to discern. See, mid-Euros, Leah Williamson posed for Calvin Klein in the same skimpy, sultry fashion as every Calvin Klein ad since klein Calvin was in klein Calvin Kleins.

The backlash was ridiculous. Social media piled on Leah for bringing sex appeal to the table. How dare she, they said. Supposed to be a role model, they said. Too much skin, they said. Won’t somebody please think of the children.

But by Justin Bieber’s bulge we need to get our story straight on what role model means here. For one, we get not our knickers in a knot when male stars pout in saucy smalls. For two, sports systems still so idealise the female form that they mandate kit showing more flesh than Smithfield Market …

Oh and for three, the window of opportunity for female sports stars to make a wedgie is tighter than a wrenching pair of Calvins. The moneyshot’s a wee bit now or never given female sport systems’ crap pay, conditions and opportunities.

With double-D-cup standards everywhere, maybe it’s time we get on the same page.

3. Branding problems?

How’s about ‘accidental piss’?

More on the female body as a branding omnishambles. As all y’all know, the pelvic floor is one of the body’s most vital yet underappreciated power centres and we urgently need PTs, coaches and systems in general to communicate what happens if active women don’t care for this core piece of apparatus.

To spread the word Baz was recently invited to lead a pelvic floor workshop at a conference of near 600 people but Pelvic Floor Masterclass attracted just eight bods versus 592 who attended assfat be gone at the same time across the hall.

Okay that last bit’s sort of made up but pelvic floors, like periods, just aren’t a sexy or fashionable topic in the fitness realm. And ‘cos branding problems need branding solutions we need your help to rebrand the title of Baz’s next pelvic floor talk.

Which of these three feels most grabby?

a) Running, jumping, leaking – spot the odd one out
b) Wet pants aren’t a badge of honour
c) Why you pee yourself in the gym

Vote your favourite now.

4. Here Comes the Science Bit

V4ginas, vulv4s, br345t5. WTF? It’s social media censorship …

Nine in every ten women’s health creators report being censored on major social media platforms in the last year, with most saying they’ve had to soften or alter content to ensure filters don’t label posts offensive, political, triggering, or sexual.

This revelation and many more feature in a June 2025 report by CensHERship, in partnership with The Case For Her, which found that biases within social media moderation systems are — inadvertently or not — further entrenching taboos and inequalities, and putting female health businesses at a sore disadvantage.

On biases, it’s plainly evident that women’s content is disproportionately censored versus men’s content. Numerous examples show that male health words make the cut with seeming ease, yet female health creators have to adopt words like ‘v4gina’ and ‘s3x’ to clear the filters. On this Instagram was the biggest offender (90%) followed by Facebook (52%) and TikTok (32%).

The report culminates in several recommendations for policymakers, business and social media platforms. As well as asking business to lend its power to change, the report calls for moderation algorithms to be rebuilt so they better understand context to parse the medical from the explicit and start to normalise terminology.

5. Medical BS

Do I need to rethink my HRT regime for summer?

Dr Bella says:Sort of. Women need to be mindful that sun, exposure and summer behaviours can cause issues and even blunt the efficacy of HRT.

The first thing to say is that HRT needs consistency so don’t get caught short. Re-up before going on holiday and leave your pills in blister packs so airport security don’t get twitchy. Also, be aware of possible interactions between your meds and heat, or your meds and travel meds like, say, antimalarials.

Right. Not enough people know that sunscreen can mess with topical HRT gel so make sure you apply your HRT at least an hour before creaming up. Similarly, because suncream, sweat or oily spots could cause HRT patches to slide off I’d advise you to use alcohol wipes to clean and dry your skin before sticking them on.

There’s more. Perimenopause can change a woman’s histamine reactions, making her much more susceptible to prickly heat and heat rash. If you’re concerned about this then increase your SPF and stick to the shade during peak sun.

Lastly hydration. Though it’s vital for everyone in summer, midlife women (on HRT or not) are acutely at risk of drying out, which can cause significant internal and external reactions. Stay ahead by sipping water, limiting booze, and using aftersun.