WomenKind Collective

This week on Spill The Tea with WKC, we’re joined by chemotherapy nurse Gemma Reeves, who has witnessed first-hand the heart-breaking rise of breast cancer in younger women.
Gemma recently launched a petition calling for routine mammograms in the UK to begin at age 40 instead of 50 a campaign focused on earlier detection and saving lives.
In a major step forward, the petition has now passed 100,000 signatures, meaning it must be considered for parliamentary debate.
Currently, the NHS Breast Screening Programme invites women aged 50 to 70 for a mammogram every three years. Those guidelines are based on evidence reviewed by the UK National Screening Committee, which assesses when screening provides more benefit than harm.
But with diagnoses increasingly affecting younger women, Gemma and many others are asking whether the current system is still fit for purpose.
Breast cancer isn’t just statistics it’s our friends and family. Jinty lost her best friend to breast cancer at 43 after both of us found lumps at the same time. Jinty’s was benign. Hers wasn’t. That’s why conversations like this matter.
In this episode we discuss:
• What change Gemma is asking the government to make
• What she’s seeing on the frontline of cancer care
• Why the myth that younger women don’t get breast cancer is so dangerous
• The symptoms women at any age should never ignore
• How she carries the emotional weight of caring for patients while campaigning nationally
Alongside this powerful conversation, we also take a lighter wander through the week, including a nostalgic look back at the public service adverts Gen X grew up watching, some wonderful collective nouns for groups of animals, and a delightful contribution from our dear friend Tom Read Wilson, who shares a collective noun for a group of menopausal women.
Stay with us to the end for a little inspiration to carry you through the week.
Gemma Reeves:
Instagram: @check_the_girls
Petition: Lower The Age For Invites To Regular Mammograms To 40 & Perform Annually: www.petition.parliament.uk/petitions/742179/signatures/new


For breast Cancer Information:
CoppaFeel: www.coppafeel.org
Breast Cancer UK: www.breastcanceruk.org.uk
Breast Cancer Now: www.breastcancernow.org
Cancer Research UK: www.cancerresearchuk.org
Macmillan Cancer Support: www.macmillan.org.uk

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This week on WKC Spill The Tea, we’re joined by psychotherapist, feminist thinker and author Jennifer Cox to discuss Anger and her ground-breaking book, Women Are Angry, named The Times Self-Help Book of the Year 2024.
For generations, women have been conditioned to stay quiet, be agreeable and not make a fuss. But suppressed anger doesn’t disappear it manifests as burnout, anxiety, depression and physical symptoms. Jennifer draws on decades of clinical experience to explore how rage is often a rational response to inequality, injustice and the emotional labour placed on women.
In this episode, we explore:
• The moment Jennifer knew this book had to be written
• The patterns she repeatedly saw in the therapy room
• Why rage rooms are booming and why 90% of customers are women
• How to tell the difference between depression, burnout and anger
• The “small” daily frustrations that accumulate into something much bigger
• How suppressed anger shows up in women’s bodies and mental health
We also discuss what’s making us personally angry right now including the corruption of water companies in England after watching Channel 4’s Dirty Business, and how this impacts us here in the South West.
Stick around for our 'Thought for the Week, beautifully inspired by our guest, Jen, to carry you through the week, plus all the usual warmth, honesty and shenanigans you’ve come to expect from WKC.
If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re exhausted… or just done this episode is for you.

Jennifer Cox:
W: www.jennifercoxpsychotherapist.com
Instagram: @jennifercoxpsychotherapist
Book: Women Are Angry. Why Your Rage is Hiding and How to Let it Out. Jennifer Cox. Bonnier Books Ltd. 2024

Women Are Mad:
Instagram: @womenaremad
Podcast: Women Are Mad.
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💛 Enjoying the podcast? Please share, leave us a review or comment!
If you would like to you can Buy us a coffee at Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/womenkindcollectivepodcast
💬 We love hearing from you, email us your ideas here Jinty & Lou @ [email protected]
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🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/womenkind-collective/id1557937820
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This week on Spill The Tea, we’re joined by Jacynth Bassett, founder of Ageism Is Never In Style, a global platform working to change how age is understood, represented and valued.
Jacynth approaches age through a feminist, intergenerational lens, challenging how women are judged, marketed to, and treated as they get older — and exploring what becomes possible when we shift the narrative.
In this episode, we explore:
• What “ageism” actually means and where it shows up in everyday life
• Why ageing feels tougher for women, particularly around appearance and credibility
• The emotional, economic and health costs of ageism
• Where real change is happening from campaigns to consulting to community work
• Why 78% of over-50s feel under- or misrepresented in advertising
• Whether youth-focused marketing profits from making older women feel like they need fixing
• The shift from “anti-ageing” to “pro-ageing” and how language shapes identity
• Why intergenerational thinking transforms how we see later life

We catch up after our break and there’s plenty of shenanigans to discuss, and stick around for some beautiful inspiration to carry you through the week.

For anyone listening, this conversation is an invitation to feel more unapologetic, more visible, and more powerful as you age.
You can find Jacynth and Ageism Is Never In Style® via these links.
Jacynth Bassett
Ageism Is Never In Style: www.ageismisneverinstyle.com
I: @ageismisneverinstyle
TT: @ageismisneverinstyle
L: @Jacynth Bassett

☕ SUBSCRIBE for honest chats on women’s health, feminist issues, sisterhood & smashing the patriarchy, one cuppa at a time.
💛 Enjoying the podcast? Please share, leave us a review or comment!
If you would like to you can Buy us a coffee at Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/womenkindcollectivepodcast
💬 We love hearing from you, email us your ideas here Jinty & Lou @ [email protected]
👀 Join us on instagram here https://www.instagram.com/womenkindcollective?igsh=ZmxmbGs2d3BjcXA1&utm_source=qr
🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/womenkind-collective/id1557937820
🎧 Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/42KniEtc5WGQhNvREsN1WP?si=e14a83c93a304bb3
And all your favourite Podcast Platforms
Thank you for Listening

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Birth is often treated as timeless and unchanging but the way we give birth has always reflected power, politics, and gender.
In this episode of Womenkind Collective: Spill The Tea, we’re joined by cultural historian and novelist Lucy Inglis, author of Born: The Untold History of Childbirth, to explore how childbirth has been shaped and controlled across history.
From Neolithic birthing practices to ancient contraceptives, from upright labour to the medicalisation of birth, Lucy charts the moments when women were pushed out of decision-making and examines how patriarchal systems and medicine became deeply intertwined.
We discuss:
• What inspired Lucy to write a full history of childbirth
• The “obstetric dilemma” and why humans need help in labour
• Medical misogyny from Hippocrates to the modern maternity ward
• Pain relief in the 1840s and the story of Fanny Appleton Longfellow
• The experiences of Anarcha, Betsey and Lucy — and why their stories are essential
• Why women still struggle for autonomy over pregnancy and birth today
• What must change to create safer, more humane birthing experiences
Lucy Inglis is also the author of Milk of Paradise: A History of Opium, a blogger at GeorgianLondon.com, and a regular contributor to radio and television.
We catch up on our weeks adventures and learn about a beautiful tradition from the women of Kongthong, a remote part of India and their tradition of Jingrwal iawbei when a baby is born.
Stick around for something for our 'thought for the week'.

Lucy Inglis :
Books:
• Born. The Untold History of Humanity. Lucy Inglis. 2025. Bloomsbury Continuum
• Milk of Paradise: A History of Opium. Lucy Inglis. 2018. Picador
• Georgian London: Into the Streets. Lucy Inglis. 2013. Penguin

Socials:
I: @lucyinglis
X: @lucyinglis
L: Lucy Inglis

☕ SUBSCRIBE for honest chats on women’s health, feminist issues, sisterhood & smashing the patriarchy, one cuppa at a time.
💛 Enjoying the podcast? Please share, leave us a review or comment!
If you would like to you can Buy us a coffee at Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/womenkindcollectivepodcast
💬 We love hearing from you, email us your ideas here Jinty & Lou @ [email protected]
👀 Join us on instagram here https://www.instagram.com/womenkindcollective?igsh=ZmxmbGs2d3BjcXA1&utm_source=qr
🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/womenkind-collective/id1557937820
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This week on Spill The Tea by Womenkind Collective, we’re joined by the brilliant Siobhan O’Donovan, physiotherapist, biomechanics expert, and founder of Posture Fitting, a science-led approach helping women understand the real impact of breast weight, posture, and movement on everyday health.
We first met Siobhan, at the Hands on Hub & STA Conference, where she captivated the room even before taking the stage. Through a simple yet powerful exercise, she demonstrated just how much lighter and freer the body can feel when breast weight is properly supported and lifted.
With a background in sports rehabilitation, strength and conditioning, and women’s health, Siobhan has spent years studying how posture, alignment, and breast support affect neck and back pain, breathing, pelvic floor health, movement, and confidence.
In this episode, we ask:
• What makes Posture Fitting different from a regular bra fitting?
• What are the most common mistakes women make with bras and breast support?
• How does breast weight affect posture, movement, breathing, and pain?
• What simple posture, movement, and bra tips can women try today?
• What’s one thing Siobhan, wishes every woman knew about her body and breast support?
Plus, Jinty & Lou chat about their week (including WW2 bombs!) and explore the question: Should a bride be given away by a parent?
✨ Stick around for our beautiful podcast inspiration to carry you through the week. ✨

Siobhán O’Donovan:
Posture Fitting
W: www.posturefittingphysio.com
E: [email protected]
I: @posture.fitting

☕ SUBSCRIBE for honest chats on women’s health, feminist issues, sisterhood & smashing the patriarchy, one cuppa at a time.
💛 Enjoying the podcast? Please share, leave us a review or comment!
If you would like to you can Buy us a coffee at Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/womenkindcollectivepodcast
💬 We love hearing from you, email us your ideas here Jinty & Lou @ [email protected]
👀 Join us on instagram here https://www.instagram.com/womenkindcollective?igsh=ZmxmbGs2d3BjcXA1&utm_source=qr
🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/womenkind-collective/id1557937820
🎧 Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/42KniEtc5WGQhNvREsN1WP?si=e14a83c93a304bb3
And all your favourite Podcast Platforms
Thank you for Listening

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