Gyno Girl Presents: Sex, Drugs & Hormones

Gen Z gets a bad rap for being lazy, but they're actually the most entrepreneurial generation we've ever had. Calle Foster, a leadership coach who spent 12 years in corporate learning and development, explains why that stereotype is costing you as a leader.The real issue? It's how we're leading them. Gen Z was raised in a very different world than previous generations, and that context shaped how they show up at work. When leaders come at them with command and control, they shut down. They internalize it as their fault. They need guides, not controllers.Calle talks about what Gen Z actually responds to: psychological safety, questions instead of orders, and understanding the why behind the work. She also addresses generational trauma—how silence about bodies, fertility, and mental health gets passed down through families and how we can break that cycle.We also dig into how this applies to medicine and residency training, parenting Gen Z kids, and building teams where multiple generations actually respect each other instead of denigrating one another.Highlights:Gen Z shuts down under command and control. Telling is yelling.Gen Z expects emotional availability from leaders because that's how they were parented by Gen X.Vulnerability from leaders creates safety for everyone on the team.Generational silence about bodies and fertility gets passed down.Gen Z has emotional language that's a strength, not a weakness.If women aren't building AI algorithms, we're automating bias into healthcare.If you're a parent, a manager, or an attending working with Gen Z, this episode is for you. The way you lead and communicate shapes how the next generation shows up. My goal is to give you tools to understand your body, your hormones, your relationships—and how to build teams and families where people feel safe enough to actually speak.If you've found this conversation helpful, please subscribe so you don't miss future episodes. And if you're in a leadership position, consider where you might shift from command and control to coaching.Get in touch with Calle:WebsiteInstagramGet in Touch with Me:WebsiteInstagramYoutubeSubstack

Dr. Sadia Malick has practiced medicine across four countries. She's delivered babies in the UK's best hospitals and in the mountains of Pakistan where women have nothing. She's founded a charity that's saved 8,000 mothers' lives. And she's spent her career caring for women who are told their suffering is just "the age of despair."Dr. Malick has spent her life caring for women across the UK, Pakistan, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. She founded a charity that trains midwives on clean, sanitary practices and provides lifesaving interventions to pregnant women in rural Pakistan. We discuss why 50% of global maternal deaths happen in just four countries, and how evidence based measures can save lives.We also talk about how menopause presents differently across cultures and populations, the cultural barriers women face when seeking care, and why conversations about hormones and aging remain deeply stigmatized in many regions. While symptoms may vary, what's universal is how much work we still have to do whether it's PCOS and insulin resistance, young cancer survivors entering menopause without follow up care, or ensuring every woman understands why vaginal estrogen matters.This conversation is about cultural humility, global health disparities, and why education about perimenopause needs to start in schools, not at age 40.Highlights:Maternal mortality is concentrated in just four countries, but simple interventions like clean supplies and IV iron can save lives.Menopause symptoms present differently across populations South Asian women experience more joint pain and mood issues than hot flashes.Cultural expectations around fertility and aging create additional barriers for women seeking menopause care.Young cancer survivors are sent home at 23 in menopause with no follow-up care or education about long-term health risks.Vaginal estrogen reduces death risk by 70% and should be part of routine care for women over 40.The average age of suicide for women in the UK is 51, and 70% of divorces happen after menopause.Get in Touch with Dr. Malick:SubstackInstagramLinkedInGet in Touch with Me: WebsiteInstagramYoutubeSubstackMentioned in this episode:GSM CollectiveThe GSM Collective - Chicago Boutique concierge gynecology practice Led by Dr. Sameena Rahman, specialist in sexual medicine & menopause Unrushed appointments in a beautiful, private setting Personalized care for women's health, hormones, and pelvic floor issues Multiple membership options available Ready for personalized women's healthcare? Visit our Chicago office today. GSM Collective

Can you really "have it all"? Dr. Sharon Malone OB-GYN, New York Times bestselling author of Grown Woman Talk, and Chief Medical Advisor at Alloy Health joins me for an honest conversation about what it really takes to balance medicine, motherhood, and everything in between. Dr. Malone and I talk about the things we don't usually say out loud. How do you balance being a great doctor, a present parent, and a supportive partner when society tells you to excel at all three simultaneously? Dr. Malone practiced medicine before and after the Women's Health Initiative, so she has a unique perspective on how hormone therapy went from being standard care to being feared and how that fear disproportionately affected women of color. We discuss why only 1% of Black women who are eligible for hormone therapy are actually on it, despite suffering the longest and most severe menopausal symptoms.We also talk about her work with Alloy Health, her new podcast The Second Opinion, and why she believes menopause is inevitable but suffering is not. Plus, we get into the uncomfortable truth about medical racism, implicit bias, and why your gut feeling matters more than your doctor's ego.HighlightsGive yourself grace in midlife perimenopause decreases your coping threshold for everything you're already juggling.Women of color carry the weight of representing their entire group, not just themselves, which adds invisible pressure.Diversity in healthcare leadership literally changes what research gets funded and what treatments get offered.Only 1% of Black women eligible for hormone therapy are actually on it, despite having more severe and longer-lasting symptoms.The "adipose tissue theory" that Black women don't need hormones because they make more estrogen on their own is completely false.Racialized medicine affects everything from endometriosis diagnosis (only thin white women?) to pain management assumptions.If your doctor gets mad that you asked for a second opinion, you need a different doctor.Guidelines are guardrails, not laws medicine requires both confidence and humility.Dr. Malone's book Grown Woman Talk is everything you need to know about navigating midlife with confidence and information. And remember: trust your gut. If something feels off, keep advocating until someone listens.I have an incredible lineup of guests coming up, so make sure you subscribe and leave a review so you never miss episodes like this one!Links:Get in touch with Dr. Malone:WebsiteBookInstagramPodcastGet in Touch with Me: WebsiteInstagramYoutubeSubstackMentioned in this episode:GSM CollectiveThe GSM Collective - Chicago Boutique concierge gynecology practice Led by Dr. Sameena Rahman, specialist in sexual medicine & menopause Unrushed appointments in a beautiful, private setting Personalized care for women's health, hormones, and pelvic floor issues Multiple membership options available Ready for personalized women's healthcare? Visit our Chicago office today. GSM Collective

The FDA told him no in 1992. They said giving estrogen to breast cancer survivors would put women at "unacceptable risk." He did the study anyway.Dr. Avrum Bluming is a medical oncologist, emeritus clinical professor of medicine at USC, former senior investigator for the National Cancer Institute, and co-author of Estrogen Matters. He's been fighting estrogen fear for over 30 years long before it was safe or popular to do so.His origin story starts with his wife. At 45, she developed breast cancer. The chemotherapy he gave her threw her into premature menopause. She couldn't sleep. She had hot flashes, night sweats, painful urination, palpitations. She couldn't remember what she'd read two pages back. And he an oncologist who had induced menopause in countless breast cancer patients—had been sympathetic but didn't know how to help them until he saw what was happening with his wife.So he started a study in 1992 to give estrogen to breast cancer survivors. The FDA denied him twice. He did it anyway. By 1997, he presented his data to 8,500 oncologists from around the world. The National Cancer Institute said it was "irresponsible" to study this. The audience challenged them. Dr. Bluming's data showed no increased risk of recurrence.We talk about the Women's Health Initiative, how the media misinterpreted the data, why the estrogen alone actually decreased breast cancer by 23% and breast cancer death by 40%, and why the box warning that just came off in November 2025 never should have been there in the first place. There are now 26 studies in the English literature on giving estrogen to breast cancer survivors. Only one showed increased risk. Four showed decreased risk. Twenty-five showed no difference.Highlights:The FDA denial story: "Don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger".Why tamoxifen works better in premenopausal women (even though it raises estrogen 4-5x).The DCIS patient whose oncologist changed their tune after the box warning came off.The FDA committee member who asked "most of your patients are going to die anyway, aren't they?"showing how little some understood about breast cancer survival.When he asked if the FDA actually read his research before denying it: "Don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger"—a quote that reveals everything.What actually causes breast cancer (spoiler: nobody knows).If you've been denied estrogen or hormone therapy, share this episode with your provider. Share Estrogen Matters with its 555 references. Share the data. At this point, there's overwhelming evidence showing HRT is safe and beneficial for most women. But some clinicians are still using outdated information from 2002. You deserve care based on current science, not decades-old fear.Get in Touch with Dr. Bluming:WebsiteInstagramStudyGet in Touch with Me: WebsiteInstagramYoutubeSubstackMentioned in this episode:GSM CollectiveThe GSM Collective - Chicago Boutique concierge gynecology practice Led by Dr. Sameena Rahman, specialist in sexual medicine & menopause Unrushed appointments in a beautiful, private setting Personalized care for women's health, hormones, and pelvic floor issues Multiple membership options available Ready for personalized women's healthcare? Visit our Chicago office today. GSM Collective