The big bad wolf of endometriosis: raising awareness through TED talks

We all know that awareness of endometriosis and the dramatic impact it can have on women’s lives remains astonishingly low despite its prevalence. But how can we bring that message to the wider public, and hopefully ensure that painful sex and periods are talked about more by the next generation of young women?

Carol Pearson speaking at TEDxBrighton

That was a question that Endometriosis UK trustee, Carol Pearson, wanted to address.

Taking a spin on a well-known fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood, Carol applied to speak at a local TED conference, TEDxBrighton. TED (standing for Technology, Entertainment, Design) is where the world’s leading thinkers and doers gather to share ideas worth spreading. It’s a speaker conference where speakers talk for under 18 minutes to share their idea in an innovative way.

The gist of the tale is that Grandma and Little Red Riding Hood were devoured by that well-known wolf, endometriosis, which could only be tracked down and executed by the huntsman, the experienced endometriosis surgeon.

In a deeply personal talk, Carol explains – with humour and frankness – not only how endometriosis affected her, resulting in the loss of her career and fertility, but also that we all need to speak up about periods – painful sex, periods, and the effect on our bodies of this devious wolf – to ensure that our daughters don’t have to go through the same terrible delays in diagnosis.

Carol’s talk was delivered to an audience of 400 – but the ultimate audience is a global one as TED talks are designed to be watched on the internet and shared widely.

Therefore, please watch and share this talk with as many people as possible – let’s make our legacy knowledge about this disease.