Women’s Health

The Gender Pain Gap Is Real

What's going on: There might be a reason you always ask a woman if she has Tylenol. In a study published earlier this month, researchers pooled pain data from more than 6 million people in 118 countries and found women report more pain than men at every one of the 11 body sites they tracked, from head to knees. (And that pain increases the most before age 55.) But here comes the hard part: getting someone to believe you. Now, a new study looking at women with autoimmune disorders (such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus) found that women took longer to get diagnosed, and were more likely to be told their symptoms were psychological. Over a third of women also wait four or more years for a diagnosis, and 43% of women had their physical symptoms attributed to a mental health condition, compared to 33% of men. One reason the authors suggest female symptoms are harder to pin down may have to do with hormonal fluctuations. Fair, but we suspect research still done mostly on males might have something to do with it.

How to speak up: In ERs, women are less likely than men to be prescribed pain meds, even when they report the same pain level… and nurses are less likely to record their pain score. So walk in with receipts. Get specific. Instead of “my back hurts,” say you can’t pick up your toddler or climb the stairs without flinching. And don’t leave without a game plan. More tests? A referral? If the answer is “let’s wait and see” — cue eyeroll — ask how long you’re waiting and the specific pain management plan in the interim.

Related: What’s Behind the “Sickfluencer” Backlash? (Ms. Magazine)

PS: Staying on top of health news is the first step to staying on top of your health. Skimm Well + Good breaks down the research so you understand your body and can advocate for yourself. Sign up here.

Food Fraud

The Actual SNAP Scam

What’s going on: Scammers are wiping out benefits for SNAP recipients in minutes — and in most states, the stolen benefits are not replaced, leaving families scrambling to supplement food costs each month. A recent ProPublica report estimates that in 2025, $470 million may have been stolen from food assistance accounts through skimmed payment terminals. That far exceeds the $64 million in SNAP recipient-committed fraud estimated annually by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Yet the focus in Washington is largely centered on recipient fraud. Last year’s Big Beautiful Bill removed 5.1 million recipients from the program, following claims like Vice President JD Vance’s assertion that “there are people who have Lamborghinis who currently receive SNAP benefits.”

So what is the government doing about this fraud?: Skimming has plagued SNAP recipients for years. While most banks upgraded debit and credit cards with microchips that make it harder to copy personal information, SNAP has lagged behind. Upgrading infrastructure is expensive, and states face reduced federal dollars to run their food assistance programs. For example, a recent USDA effort awarded seven states a combined $5 million to address fraud — a fraction of total losses. Federal legislation to mandate chip cards remains stalled in Congress. Some states are stepping up. California became the first state to issue chip-enabled EBT cards in 2025, resulting in a measurable drop in theft. Pennsylvania, where one in three residents receives SNAP benefits, plans to roll out chip cards early next year.

Related: Some of the People Who Got Kicked Off ACA Will Be Added Back (NPR)  

Mystery Corner 

Searching for Amelia Earhart

What's going on: Calling all women who were once precocious 9-year-olds: The search for Amelia Earhart is back on. In 1937, Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan went missing while attempting an around-the-world flight in their Lockheed Electra 10E aircraft, and now, some researchers may be close to finding evidence of their crash. An expedition team from Purdue University and the Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) reached the uninhabited South Pacific island of Nikumaroro in Kiribati — located between Hawaii and Australia — earlier this week. The mission? Investigate a lagoon where, in 2020, satellite images captured an object submerged in the water. Some researchers think the so-called “Taraia Object” (named after the peninsula it’s located on) may be remnants of Earhart’s plane. After surveying the lagoon, researchers will use a hydraulic dredge to remove sediment from the object and examine it. This marks the 20th organized search for the plane, and if it’s successful, researchers will have solved one of the greatest aviation mysteries of all time.

Twentieth time’s the charm?: Researchers say the discovery of the plane could prove the “castaway hypothesis,” which suggests that Earhart and Noonan crash-landed on the island and lived there briefly before dying. The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) has investigated this theory since 1988, completing 12 expeditions to the island. The supporting body of evidence includes human bones that match a woman of Earhart’s size, 1930s artifacts including a freckle cream jar, and logs of distress calls picked up in the days after Earhart disappeared. However, even some proponents of the castaway hypothesis believe that any remnants of the plane have been lost over the past 89 years; they think that the Taraia Object is simply a tree. As for how the field mission is going: “We’re following our game plan,” Rick Pettigrew, executive director of ALI, said in a statement on Wednesday. “It’s too early to reach conclusions as we’ve got a lot of science left to apply.” So goes the mystery.

Related: The World’s Oldest Shipwreck May Have Been Found Off the Coast of Turkey (ABC News)

Expensive Gifts That Are Worth It

Ali, Senior Commerce Director, here. Buying holiday gifts for the family racks up quickly, so when I choose the few presents that cost $100 or more, I want to make sure they’re legit. Here are my vetted few:

• Popsmith’s manual popcorn maker that’ll become key on movie nights

• Over-the-ear headphones they’ll use every single day

• The hobo bag that’ll defy fashion trends 

PS: Want more options? Check out our gift guides here.

Quick Hits

📸 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made their first joint public appearance in the UK since trading Montecito for the Cotswolds earlier this year. Alexa, play “Who Says You Can’t Go Home.”

🐣 Hilary Swank, 52, announced she's pregnant with her third child, three years after welcoming twins. When a 39-year-old fan said the news gave her hope that she could still have a family, Swank reassured her that “things happen in their time, not ours.”

🍺 The internet roasted Mark Zuckerberg's painfully awkward Guinness sip on a tech podcast. Someone get this man a juice box. 

🎂 A professional baker shared a few tricks to make store-bought desserts look homemade. Simply add fresh fruit, a dusting of powdered sugar, or a drizzle of chocolate. The secret ingredient is plausible deniability.

👀 Men are reportedly shelling out as much as $40,000 for “hunter eyes” surgery, a risky procedure meant to give them a more intense gaze. We have officially seen enough.

🎬 Stanley Tucci could not stop gushing to theSkimm about Anne Hathaway’s Devil Wears Prada 2 press tour. Chief among his observations? “Women have always been stronger than men.”

🎃 Before you carve that pumpkin, know that most jack-o’-lanterns only last five to 10 days. A little petroleum jelly and some shade can help keep them fresh through Halloween. Even pumpkins need a little anti-aging routine.

💁‍♀️ Here’s how two of our editors got brighter, smoother skin in just three weeks.*