Framed by the floor-to-ceiling windows of Headington Hall's banquet room, four female leaders shared challenges and triumphs they've faced in health care at Women's Health Advocacy's second annual Menstrual Met Gala. This year's theme: Healthcare Heroines.
Over a hundred people gathered on International Women’s Day to listen to panelists and enjoy a night of "amplification, empowerment and inspiration," according to an Instagram post advertising the event.
"Seeing all of the women feels really, really inspiring," Emily Carr, president of Women's Health Advocacy, said after the gala. "Not only our guest speakers who have had all this lived experience and stuff, but also the leaders who are the same age as us (who are) doing the same thing. (It's) the perfect way to end International Women's Day."
Women's Health Advocacy is a registered student organization and nonprofit dedicated to addressing menstrual inequity and women's health disparities by providing free menstrual products and educational resources at OU and around Norman.
The gala began with a video by the organization, highlighting female leaders at OU, including Lexie McIntosh, former president of the American Indian Student Association and a 2022-2023 NAS Mellon Impact fellow; Diane Mukundwa Ndisebuye, vice president of African Women's League; and Mariafernanda Gonzalez, secretary of the Hispanic American Student Association.
Sitting at tables decorated with vases of purple flowers, attendees watched as the leaders discussed challenges of working in male-dominated fields and shared advice they would give to their younger selves:
"If your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough," one leader said.
"I'd tell her to be kinder to herself,” said another.
After the video ended, Carr asked those in the room who were featured to stand and thanked them for showing their "womanhood and … leadership so beautifully." The audience applauded.
The panelists then moved to the front of the room for a Q&A session, passing a microphone between them to share personal experiences and offer guidance to the audience.
Dr. Rachel Franklin
Dr. Rachel Franklin, associate chief physician executive at OU Health Science Center, gave advice to students pursuing careers in STEM, or science, technology, engineering and math, and discussed sexism in the workplace.
As she talked, Franklin held a framed portrait of herself as a high school senior, referencing the question posed in the video about what advice she would give to her younger self. Franklin smiled fondly as she told the audience she made the dress she wore in the photo.
Franklin said she was the only woman in her graduating class who was pre-med. During an interview to get a letter of recommendation for medical school, Franklin said a board of men sat her down and said before they wrote the letter they needed to know if she planned to marry or have kids because "you can't be a wife and a mom and a doctor."
"I have twins," Franklin, a family medicine physician, said. "They just graduated from OU."
Looking around the room full of young women, Franklin said she is saddened to see that many of the issues they face today are issues she faced when she was their age.
"When you all told your stories, a part of me grieved that your story is still my story," Franklin said. "(But) I love the fact that you all have each other. It makes 18-year-old Rachel's heart really happy."
Lauren Oliver
Lauren Oliver, an OU College of Medicine student pursuing an OB-GYN career, said for a long time she didn't feel comfortable stepping into leadership positions. She even hesitated applying to medical school because she didn't know if she would be cut out for it.
But as she got older, Oliver pushed herself to challenge sexism and bias in the medical field, becoming an advocate both for herself and for her patients.
During her second week of clinical rotations, Oliver said she was in a surgical oncology rotation with breast surgeons who were advising two different patients on their options for nipple reconstruction following a mastectomy.
The first patient, a white woman, was shown a tattoo swatch and Google photos. She was counseled thoroughly.
The second patient, a Black woman, asked for the same options, but was not shown a tattoo swatch or Google photos.
When the patient left the room, Oliver asked the doctor why the Black patient received a different consultation than the white woman.
"She can probably just Google it," the doctor bluntly responded.
As a student, Oliver said it's easy to step back and think someone else will take action. But instead, Oliver collaborated with students across campus to gather Google photos for Black patients, which Oliver emailed to the doctor.
"Your way of leadership might not look quite the same way as others, but that is OK," Oliver said. "Make space for yourself, because you deserve to be there in that space."
Chrystyan Cross
Chrystyan Cross is the president and founder of The Inkk Advocates Oklahoma City, a chapter of the national PERIOD. organization that distributes menstrual products in the Oklahoma City metro area, and founder and host of ThaMonthly Podcast, which discusses topics surrounding reproductive health.
Cross said she was inspired to create the podcast after a previous job gave her six days of suspension for being absent for four days after her ovarian cyst ruptured at work and she was taken to the hospital by ambulance.
"I was talking with my partner and I was like, 'Well, I'm just gonna make another Facebook post, I'm just gonna rant. … People need to know they can't be treated like this.' But she says, 'Just do a podcast,'" Cross said.
So, in May of 2022, Cross released the first episode of ThaMonthly Podcast.
"That was my catalyst for being an advocate in the way that I am," Cross said.
At the gala, Cross, who has polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis, discussed the importance of advocating for oneself at the doctor's office. Cross encouraged those in the audience to bring a trusted partner, friend or relative with them to doctor's appointments who can "speak for you when you cannot speak for yourself."
"Be your own advocate," Cross said. "Don't wait on nobody. Don't be gaslit by anybody. And just be thorough with yourself."
Rep. Annie Menz
Rep. Annie Menz (D-Norman), who represents District 45, said she has always been interested in politics, but noticed at a young age there was a lack of representation in government.
Menz worked her way to the Oklahoma Capitol and became the first Latina elected to the statehouse and one of the only veteran and openly queer members in the Oklahoma Legislature.
"I believe that if there's something you're interested in, a place where you see yourself, something that you see yourself doing, but you don't see a lot of people that look like you; you have the obligation to become that for younger generations," Menz said.
As a representative, Menz said health care is one of the issues she keeps an eye on, adding there's been hateful rhetoric in the Capitol recently around the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
This legislative session, the Oklahoma Legislature is considering or has considered 54 bills targeting members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which is tracking anti-2SLGBTQ+ bills in 40 states. That's more than any other state the ACLU is tracking.
"Vote," Menz urged the audience. "Did you hear me in the back? Vote early, vote often. … We make them listen when we have numbers."
Taking action
Cross encouraged people to continue fighting period poverty and to support legislation that would help alleviate it, such as Senate Bill 1259 co-authored by Sen. Roger Thompson (R-Okemah) and Rep. Kevin Wallace (R-Wellston), which would offer sales tax exemptions for menstrual products and House Bill 3329 co-authored by Rep. Cynthia Roe (R-Lindsay) and Sen. Brenda Stanley (R-Midwest City), which would require certain schools to provide free menstrual products to students.
SB 1259 is waiting to be heard by the House and HB 3329 progressed out of committee in February. The House has until Thursday for the third reading of bills and joint resolutions in the chamber of origin.
Period poverty refers to the lack of access to safe and hygienic menstrual products during monthly periods and inaccessibility to menstrual hygiene education. A 2021 BioMed Central Women's Health national survey found 10% of all female college students are unable to afford menstrual products each month.
Women's Health Advocacy has over 80 menstrual stations — baskets or plastic bins with free tampons and pads — across campus and Norman. Carr said money raised from gala tickets and raffles will go toward funding the menstrual stations across campus as well as other programs, such as the Just-In-Case Kits project launched in January.
Last month, the personal finance website WalletHub released its report on the Best & Worst States for Women in 2024. Oklahoma ranked last for women's health care and safety and second-to-last for women's economic and social wellbeing.
Oliver pointed to the lack of abortion access in Oklahoma, where the procedure is banned with limited exceptions to save a pregnant person's life.
Oklahoma has a high maternal mortality rate, particularly for people of color, Oliver said. Black women are at least three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women.
"It's an uphill battle, I'm not going to lie," Oliver said. "But the more people that get involved, the more that are knowledgeable and the more that are educated on this topic, the better it's going to be."
After the panel, the attendees walked around the room, took pictures beneath a purple and white balloon arch and talked with one another.
Thao Tran, a pre-med biomedical engineering sophomore, said it was encouraging to hear from the panelists, especially as she pursues a career in STEM.
"I feel supported," Tran said. "There are women like them out there who are still fighting for us and who are advocating for not only themselves, but for other women."
Sophia Pham, a pre-med biochemistry sophomore, said hearing the panelists' experiences working in male-dominated fields and finding a work-life balance was inspiring.
"It made me feel like, 'Oh, I'm not alone,'" Pham said.
This story was edited by Ismael Lele and Anusha Fathepure. Lily Grace Battles and Grace Rhodes copy edited this story.
