These two words that women say could lead to a health crisis

Now, Megababe is tackling this so-called ‘comfort tax’ with an ad campaign designed to encourage women to better advocate for themselves. On Monday, the personal care brand unveiled a series of bright orange-and-white ads across New York City that underscore how women have normalized discomfort. The campaign marks Megababe’s first foray into social-first messaging. It comes alongside the results of a March survey it conducted, which found that 85% of women would rather be uncomfortable than inconvenience someone else. Women claiming to be fine is so pervasive that 96% of the 500 respondents reported doing so at least weekly, even when they’re not fine. These types of “shockingly high” statistics, while sad, weren’t altogether surprising, which is why Megababe decided to highlight the bigger implications of that small behavior that’s so ingrained among women, says founder Katie Sturino. “We wanted to talk about how some of this ‘I’m fine’ business affects actual physical health, meaning, we don’t want to complain and seem high maintenance to the point where we don’t go to the doctor,” Sturino tells Fast Company in an exclusive interview. “We just suffer through things.” In fact, the survey found that 65% of women have never told their doctor about a recurring body discomfort, because they felt it was too embarrassing or “not serious enough” to mention. While medical gaslighting is also a serious issue many women will encounter, recognizing the learned behavior of dismissing discomfort is an important first step, Sturino says. [Image: Megababe] ‘I just want women to go off’ The ad campaign includes a phone number that people can call or text to complain about whatever might be irking them at the moment, be it a body issue or someone else. That’s something Sturino says she proudly encourages her 800