Expect These Symptoms: Delusional FemTech

FemTech, or Female Technologies, are specially designed eHealth software applications with the promise to aid women’s health. Although it sounds like an opportunity to reduce gendered health-gaps, it seems as if we have reached a point in which the emancipatory goals are being overshadowed. Incorrect advice not only fosters delusion but can also pose a danger to the health of people with ovaries, especially those who are already marginalised in society.

SPUI25 in Spe explores the shape of contemporary FemTech software, aiming to understand ideological technicalities within these digital and datafied healthcare systems. What can we, menstruating or not, learn from the current state of affairs surrounding these female technologies? And should we even be using these apps?

Expect these symptoms: delusional FemTech is the second part of a medical-technological two-part sequence, of which the first panel on November 20th was about our collective (medical) ignorance about menstrual and hormonal cycles. The two parts can be followed together or separately from each other.

About the speakers

Naomi Jacobs works as an assistant professor in bioethics in the philosophy department at the University of Twente. Her research focuses on the ethical aspects of technology design, particularly technology aimed at women’s health. She has written several articles on the ethics of FemTech.

Kathleen Guan is currently a PhD researcher at Delft University of Technology, investigating methods to co-design equitable artificial intelligence solutions for health. With a background in public health, her work focuses on personalizing digital health tools for diverse communities, particularly young people, empowering them to take an active role in their well-being.

Siân Brooke is an Assistant Professor and MacGillavry Fellow at the Digital Interactions Lab, University of Amsterdam. An innovative interdisciplinary researcher, she brings unique expertise in data science and critical research to explore the intricate dynamics of gender and intersectional equality in technology interactions. Her work combines advanced analytical techniques with deep societal insights to address key issues in technology and inclusion, focusing on how gender and neurodiversity shape digital environments and developing tools that promote equitable learning. Her research, recognised by the Alan Turing Institute, the British Academy, and CIVICA, employs computational, ethnographic, and user experience research to understand and address discrimination in collaborative computing. A passionate mentor and advocate for inclusive technology design and policy, Siân is also committed to open science and ethical data practices, serving as an Associate Editor for Information, Communication & Society.

Lisa van Oosten (moderator) is part of SPUI25 in Spe. She graduated in International Communication and Media and is currently pursuing a degree in Information Sciences at the University of Amsterdam. As a response to her fascination towards the ongoing digitization of everyday life, her interests lie primarily within the intersections of internet technologies and inclusive social change.

Britt Bakermans (moderator) is part of SPUI25 in Spe. She is studying medicine and often takes a broader perspective to better understand health disparities. She is particularly struck by how (un)health can reflect inequality. Britt aims to explore and advocate for a more inclusive and equitable healthcare system.