Popular culture puts women’s health in the spotlight

Popular culture can spark conversations, reduce stigma, shift behaviour, and put women’s health on the global agenda. It is time to make women’s health a visible part of popular culture—at scale.

Popular culture can increase awareness and drive action for women's health. Photo: Cottonbro Studio

When Beyoncé shared her harrowing experience with preeclampsia, public interest spiked—and women started talking about a condition many did not even know existed. When an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” featured breast cancer genetics, screening for the condition increased. And when Simone Biles pulled out of the Olympic games to preserve her mental health, thousands of young women began sharing their own stories and asking for help.

These moments are more than headlines—they are proof that when women’s health enters culture, it becomes visible, actionable, and transformative. Stories told in music, film, sports, gaming, and social media can change lives, spark health-seeking behaviour, and even shift policies and investments.

Out of the echo chamber

Yet the challenge remains: too often, conversations about women’s health—mental health, diabetes, cancer, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)—stay private or confined to professional forums. Clinicians, academics, and health ministers may discuss them, but unless these issues reach the broader public and decision-makers across finance, education, and infrastructure, they remain siloed, hidden, and under-prioritised.

At Museum for the United Nations – UN Live, we try to get to the hidden issues on the agenda. Our mission is to harness the power of popular culture and take global challenges, like health, equity, mental wellbeing, climate change and biodiversity, out of conference rooms and onto cultural platforms where they can reach millions.

Through initiatives like Sounds Right, which pairs world-class musicians with the sounds of nature, we drive royalties and engagement to conservation while underscoring the restorative power of nature. We also work with game developers, filmmakers, and sports organisations to highlight development challenges while engaging people where they already are—in playlists, sports fields, and social feeds. This way we turn awareness into engagement, and engagement into action and change.

Culture that moves the needle

Evidence shows that popular culture not only raises awareness but also drives action on women’s health. Relatable TV characters have over time turned complex medical issues into personal action and brought women’s cancer screening into the cultural conversation. A “Desperate Housewives” episode featured a Pap smear plot and a “Sex and the City” plot line tackled Samantha Jones’s experiences with breast cancer. Viewers who recalled these storylines were significantly more likely to intend to get screened, and several TV series have been quoted when women’s health policies have been drawn up.

The MTV TV series “Shuga” has been running since 2009, featuring the lives of people with HIV, contraception issues, and relationship and sexual agency across sub-Saharan Africa. It has significantly increased HIV testing and condom use in the region.

Using sport to draw global attention to diabetes, Team Novo Nordisk—the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team—has turned elite competition into advocacy and destigmatisation. Racing internationally and reaching millions, the team has shifted public perception of what is possible with diabetes. Riders like Becky Furuta and Mandy Marquardt have been strong voices for women and diabetes, sharing their experiences to inspire and inform.

These are important examples demonstrating that culture can catalyse health behaviour change, but we need many more. Despite the fact that women’s health affects half the population, fewer than 10% of major characters on TV and film are shown dealing with serious health issues. Coverage of women’s sport remains extremely limited, ranging from 2–15% of total sports media coverage across the US, Europe, and Australia, with most attention focused on results and performance rather than athlete health or wellbeing. Too often, these vital stories are invisible, leaving millions without role models, guidance, or inspiration.

Towards greater engagement with popular culture

Critics may argue popular culture oversimplifies complex health issues. But the data shows it does something powerful: it lowers barriers, reduces stigma, and opens doors to care. Television dramatisations and celebrity disclosures do not replace clinical services—but they often inspire women to seek them out, and prompt conversations, political attention, and actionable recommendations. That ripple matters.

To promote greater engagement with popular culture, we need to be strategic, and we need to go big. We must go where people are—and move them. In order to turn the millions of hearts, minds, views, and wallets, we need to go to the platforms that people already use, from the big streaming services to stadiums to social feeds. Change does not start in policy papers; it starts in stories, playlists, memes, and moments people care about.

We need to invest in the creatives and creators. We have to invest in cultural infrastructure for change and to empower the artists, storytellers, creatives, and organisations who have the ability to shift narratives and norms. Let us learn from them. That is how we capture the agenda—and the many millions of people consuming their content.

We must root content in local context and measure outcomes. Content and narratives should be co-designed, localised, and have feedback loops and evaluation built in. Whether in K‑drama TV series, African sports campaigns, Latin American music initiatives, or the many games developed to drive social or cognitive change, we need to invest, measure what we treasure, and constantly adapt.

In short: for real change to happen in the health of girls and women, we must move beyond research and white papers, and scale up engagement with popular culture. Imagine a world where girls and women see themselves and their health reflected in the songs they stream, the shows they watch, and the games they play.

Culture shapes norms, what is funded, what is prioritised, and who gets seen and heard. Investing in culture is investing in long-term impact.

Let us change the narratives, the stories, and the systems. Let us elevate creators alongside clinicians, and storytellers alongside researchers. Because when popular culture and women’s health converge, the many millions of communities act—and change will follow.

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The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Re:solve Global Health.

Katja Iversen is a gender equality advisor, author, motivational speaker, and CEO of Museum for the United Nations – UN Live.