Experts slam Kourtney Kardashian’s vaginal wellness gummies
Kourtney Kardashian’s vaginal wellness gummies aren’t something you should keep up with, according to women’s health experts.
Gynecologists are slamming the Kardashian’s “crude and vulgar” gummies, claiming there’s no scientific evidence they work — and suggesting seeking advice from a doctor rather than an influencer.
Kardashian, 43, promoted the product on her Instagram earlier this week in a reel that shows CGI pussycats walking around her in circles as she eats one of the gummies.
“Your [cat emoji] is going to love this,” the caption reads. “Meet Lemme Purr: our new vaginal health gummy!”
The post continued, “Vaginal health is such an important part of a woman’s overall well-being (and not talked about enough) which is why we are so excited to launch this! Give your vagina the sweet treat it deserves (and turn it into a sweet treat). You know what they say…you are what you eat.”
However, experts are now warning the general public not to “spend your hard-earned cash on this product.”
Dr. Anita Mitra, a London-based gynecologist and scientist with a PhD on the vaginal microbiome, took to social media to explain her five reasons why she wouldn’t drop cash on celebrity-endorsed probiotics.
The author of “The Gynae Geek: Your No-Nonsense Guide to ‘Down There’ Healthcare” said her first red flag was that the terms “probiotic” and “microbiome” are often thrown around and are little more than “great marketing buzzwords,” adding that probiotics are “not a panacea for health.”
She continued with her second reason, saying that there’s no scientific evidence that everyone needs a probiotic: “If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it.”
Mitra’s third reason is that there are many types of probiotics — but she “certainly” wouldn’t recommend this type.
“The marketing for this gummy states it has been ‘clinically studied.’ Spoiler alert: this specific probiotic has not been particularly well-researched with regards to vaginal health,” she wrote in the caption of her Instagram video. “There are many other types that have been more extensively studied.”
Mitra went on to say that if you have any symptoms that concern you to seek advice from a healthcare professional — “don’t take health advice from a celeb.”
Her fifth and final reason was that the whole thing was “anti-feminist.”
“This is anti-feminist. Anyone who tells you that you need to change the taste or smell of your vulva or vagina is working with the patriarchy,” she wrote. “And while we are at it, let’s stop using the cat emoji to refer to our anatomy.”
The Post has reached out to Kardashian’s reps for comment on the gyno-backlash.
“It’s incredibly problematic. I understand that the celebrity in question does not understand the science behind vaginal health and probiotics,” Mitra told the Daily Mail. “However, in 2023, it’s disappointing to see a woman shaming other women into buying a product by suggesting that they need to change the smell and taste of their vagina.”
Dr. Brooke Vandermole, an obstetrics and gynecology specialist who shares expert insights on women’s health on her Instagram and TikTok, told the outlet that there is “no merit” to Kardashian’s suggestion that the gummies “target” vaginal wellness.
“In a healthy person – one who doesn’t suffer with recurrent infections – there is no reliable scientific evidence that taking probiotics have any beneficial effect,” the London-based NHS doctor said. “Probiotics are also a catch-all term, meaning it can contain any number of different bacteria, and we don’t know if those contained in this supplement have been tested and show any benefit or that when taken orally, that they will even reach the vagina.”
Dr. Vandermole also said that the claim that the Kardashian-founded gummies can help with “freshness, odor and taste.”
“All vaginas have an individual smell and taste which will vary according to your menstrual cycle, exercise patterns and your diet,” she shared. “The odor of discharge is important for the function of the vagina because it means a healthy balance of bacteria are present in the vaginal microbiome.”
Vandermole doubled down on claims Kardashian was being “misogynistic and anti-feminist” with her suggestions — something the celebrity has gotten backlash over from fans as well.
“It is purely misogynistic and anti-feminist to suggest that vaginas are somehow unclean or unhygienic because their natural smell doesn’t fit in with the ideal provided in mainstream media and porn,” the doctor said.
She also said the advertising was concerning because it is “crude and vulgar,” and centering the ad around improving the smell and taste of a vagina shows that the creator cares “more about the opinion of the person interacting with the vagina-owner” than the customer.
“It contributes to the objectification of women, depersonalizing them from their genitalia and reducing them to sexual objects,” Vandermole said.
When it comes to celebrity-endorsed products in general, Vandermole said it’s a “risky area” since there’s little regulation around what the products contain and what they claim to be able to do for the customer.
“Some parts of the industry are not subject to the same levels of scrutiny as a medication would be, so it is difficult to know how much research has gone into the ingredients that supplements and probiotics contain,” she said. “Celebrities will often have no idea what value the products may have in real life, and align themselves with a product because they like the marketing.”
Vandermole believes that all supplements and probiotics should have similar regulations as medications to ensure they’re backed up by real scientific evidence and data.
Many in the comment’s of Kardashian’s Instagram post were not happy with the celebrity.
“This makes no sense,” one person said.
“I need a gynecologist to tell me this is okay to take,” another wrote.
“Another example of marketing unnecessary projects to women to make them feel insecure enough to buy it,” someone commented.
“I’m a gynecologist. This ain’t it. Stop giving your money away. You do not need this,” one user chimed in.
“This is ridiculous. It’s not supposed to smell or taste sweet. If it does something is wrong. Don’t buy into this nonsense!” another exclaimed.
“Weaponizing the patriarchy for profit is misogony. Promoting misinformation regarding womens health is just a vile thing to do – be a better human Kardashian,” someone else wrote.
“You ladies make it harder and harder every day to defend you. Imagine if you used all that power you have to support women instead of contributing to the machine that keeps us down. Nobody needs this product unless you want expensive pee. Stop this ridiculousness,” one person commented.
Kardashian first started branding herself in the wellness space when she launched her blog Poosh in 2019.
The reality star launched Lemme, her line of vitamin and botanical supplements, last year — part of her effort to establish herself in the wellness world.
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