Inflammation across "Sex" and "Stress" Hormones

Andrea Ford
In: Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, Technoscience · 2026 · vol. 12(2) · doi:10.28968/cftt.v12i2.46248 · W7215063378
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This UK-based paper explores how endometriosis serves as a site where the traditional distinction between sex and inflammatory hormones breaks down, reflecting broader shifts in social and scientific understandings of menstruation.

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This paper explores the conceptual breakdown of the "sex hormone" category within medical science and popular culture, focusing on the intersection of menstruation and inflammation. Drawing from ethnographic research in the UK, it examines how endometriosis serves as a key site where traditional distinctions between menstrual and inflammatory processes are dissolving across patient forums, scientific consortiums, and wellness media. The author argues that this shift reflects broader changes in social and molecular understandings of the body, particularly regarding the systemic nature of chronic inflammatory conditions linked to reproductive cycles. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — specifically framing it as a chronic, systemic inflammatory condition that challenges traditional biomedical categories of sex hormones and the reproductive system.

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Abstract

The idea of a discrete “reproductive system,” particularly in women’s bodies, is a mutually shaping force within medical science, clinical practice, popular culture, and quotidian health practices. The category of “sex hormones” has been part of this conceptualization, yet is breaking down at the nexus of menstruation and inflammation. Specialist researchers are framing periods as inflammatory events, and attention to the health effects of chronic inflammation is filtering into popular wellness media discussions of menstruation. Endometriosis is associated with menstruation and conventionally treated as a gynecological disorder, yet is increasingly understood as a chronic, systemic, inflammatory condition. Drawing from ethnographic and interdisciplinary projects in the UK, this paper explores endometriosis as an increasingly visible site where the category of sex hormones breaks down and society is understood to “get under the skin” in new ways. It discusses the traditional divide between menstrual and inflammatory hormones in medical science, and how this divide is changing across patient forums, multinational research consortiums, wellness podcasts and blogs, and femtech companies’ outputs. It argues that proliferating entry points into the menstruation / inflammation nexus and the complexity of determining cause and effect are part of a broader shift in both social and scientific understandings of the molecular.
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Inflammation across "Sex" and "Stress" Hormones Endometriosis, Menstruation, and Metabolism Main Article Content Abstract The idea of a discrete “reproductive system,” particularly in women’s bodies, is a mutually shaping force within medical science, clinical practice, popular culture, and quotidian health practices. The category of “sex hormones” has been part of this conceptualization, yet is breaking down at the nexus of menstruation and inflammation. Specialist researchers are framing periods as inflammatory events, and attention to the health effects of chronic inflammation is filtering into popular wellness media discussions of menstruation. Endometriosis is associated with menstruation and conventionally treated as a gynecological disorder, yet is increasingly understood as a chronic, systemic, inflammatory condition. Drawing from ethnographic and interdisciplinary projects in the UK, this paper explores endometriosis as an increasingly visible site where the category of sex hormones breaks down and society is understood to “get under the skin” in new ways. It discusses the traditional divide between menstrual and inflammatory hormones in medical science, and how this divide is changing across patient forums, multinational research consortiums, wellness podcasts and blogs, and femtech companies’ outputs. It argues that proliferating entry points into the menstruation / inflammation nexus and the complexity of determining cause and effect are part of a broader shift in both social and scientific understandings of the molecular. Article Details Authors and artists who publish with Catalyst agree to the following terms: (a) The author(s) or artist(s) retain the copyright and rights to all uses of their work, including reuse for commercial purposes. (b) The author(s) or artist(s) grant Catalyst a license to publish their work in Catalyst. (c) The author(s) or artist(s) grant the right for this work to be distributed for scholarly and educational purposes and not for commercial purposes. Scholarly and educational use is free. Other uses depend on the written permission of the author or artist. (d) In cases of first publication, the author will mention Catalyst as a source whenever the author later republishes the article on other platforms.

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