The Whiny GYNie

10/18/2026

I baked an apple pie today. 🥧❤️ But this pie comes with almost 30 years of gratitude.

Today, I’m bringing it to Kate Hogan’s Pie Fundraiser.

Kate doesn’t represent my district. But nearly 30 years ago, she gave me something I desperately needed. She gave me my power back.

I’d just filed a sexual harassment and gender discrimination lawsuit against my employer. I was warned I’d be unhireable. That I was destroying my career. That standing up for myself would come at a tremendous professional cost.

And then I met Kate.

She hired me to work on her team at Sojourner: The Women’s Forum.

The minute I walked into that office, I got my power back.

I went from an untenable workplace to one where I was trusted, respected and given tremendous responsibility. My lawsuit wasn’t some dirty little secret. I didn’t have to hide it. I was supported.

And I LOVED that job.

I made lifelong friends. I met people from backgrounds I’d never encountered before. I was exposed to causes and perspectives that broadened my world at a time when my former employer had worked to make it very, very small.

I’ve ALWAYS been outspoken. In fact, speaking up was part of what got me into trouble with my previous employer.

At Sojourner, that same quality wasn’t treated as a liability. It was valued.

I didn’t find my voice there. I already had one. But Kate gave me a place where I could use it without retaliation.

And that emboldened me in ways that have stayed with me for nearly 30 years.

Today, I’m wearing my “When in Menopause” shirt. And I can’t help but wonder if I’d be wearing it, doing the advocacy work I do today, if Kate hadn’t taken a chance on me all those years ago.

I’d like to think so. But I know that having someone believe in me at such a pivotal moment made a difference.

Kate didn’t just give me a job. She helped me reclaim my confidence, my career and my power.

So today, I’m showing up with an apple pie to support someone who showed up for me when I needed it most.

And hopefully, I’ll get to hug a few old friends while I’m there.

Funny how much gratitude you can fit into one apple pie. 🥧❤️

10/18/2026

Well, this is pretty damn cool.

I’m sporting my *When in Menopause* shirt, carrying my matching tote from Social Goods AND holding a copy of *When in Menopause* by Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, published by Sheldon Press.

Oh, and did I mention? I’M QUOTED IN THE BOOK!

When I launched The Whiny GYNie®, I wanted to turn my own frustrating menopause experience into something productive. To educate, advocate, challenge the status quo and help other women avoid the ridiculous obstacles I encountered trying to access appropriate care.

What I didn’t anticipate was just how rewarding advocacy would become.

And that’s exactly what Jennifer chose to highlight in her book. My perspective on how incredibly fulfilling it is to use your voice to advocate for change.

I’m so grateful to Jennifer, not only for including my words, but for the tremendous work she’s done to elevate menopause as an issue of health, equity and public policy. Her commitment to amplifying women’s voices and pushing for meaningful change is making a difference.

It’s an honor to have my voice included in a book that contributes to this important conversation.

And yes, I have the shirt, the tote AND the book. Apparently, I’ve become a walking *When in Menopause* promotional campaign. 😂

Thank you, Jennifer, for the work you do, the voices you amplify and for reminding us that advocacy matters.

Sheldon Press Social Goods Jennifer Weiss-Wolf

10/17/2026

10/17/2026

Boston, are you ready to make some noise? 🔥🤘
Menopause is NOT going quietly, and neither are we!
On November 2, we’re taking over The Rockwell in Somerville for the first-ever Menopunks LIVE podcast event! 🎤
We’re bringing together comedy, candid conversations, evidence-based menopause information, advocacy, and a whole lot of ROCK & ROLL.
🎤 Bethany Van Delft kicks things off with comedy.
🔥 Alicia J. Rose of Menopunks leads the live podcast conversation featuring Andrea Giancontieri of The Whiny GYNie®, Dr. Anila S. Jha, Hilken Mancini, and Kacy Fleming of The Fuchsia Tent.
🤘 Girl Sküll, the menopause metal band, brings the noise!
Presented with ONCE Presents, this is more than a night out. It’s a chance to laugh, learn, connect, challenge the status quo, and raise a little hell while we’re at it.
📍 The Rockwell | Somerville, MA
📅 Monday, November 2
🚪 Doors: 6:30 PM | Show: 7:30 PM
🎟️ $20 advance | $25 at the door
Swipe to meet the badass women making it happen, then grab your tickets!


Bethany Van Delft Comedian & Opening Act
Named Best Comic by Boston Magazine, Bethany has performed at Just for Laughs and SF Sketchfest, hosted The Moth, and co-hosted PBS/NOVA’s Parentalogic. Her comedy album I’m Not a Llama reached #2 on the iTunes comedy charts. She’s bringing her award-winning wit to kick off Menopunks LIVE!

Alicia J. Rose | Menopunks Co-Founder & Podcast Moderator
Award-winning filmmaker, musician, and director of the forthcoming Menopunks documentary, Alicia has built a career telling stories that challenge conventions. Her film A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff earned multiple festival awards. Now she’s bringing the Menopunks movement to Boston to moderate its first-ever LIVE podcast!

Andrea Giancontieri | Founder, The Whiny GYNie®
Menopause advocate, founder of The Whiny GYNie®, and Boston Co-Lead of Women’s Health Advocates, Andrea has testified before state legislatures, lobbied on Capitol Hill, and pushed for better menopause education, insurance coverage, and access to care. She’s bringing the patient perspective and a determination to turn menopause frustration into legislati

10/13/2026

I’m headed to the Women’s Health Innovation Summit. Advancing women’s health is worth tackling the Mass Pike during a rainy rush hour.

10/03/2026

Lipedema is so much more than having a disproportionate body.

For years, I lived in a body that didn’t make sense to me. I carried shame and guilt for something that wasn’t a failure of discipline, effort or willpower. It was a disease.

My lipedema journey has included a massive debulking surgery that removed 17 liters of diseased fat, a circumferential body lift (belt lipectomy), a thigh lift, a 3-liter calf reduction and multiple scar revisions to my inner thighs, abdomen and hips.

And surgery wasn’t a cure.

I still have lipedema, including in my arms. I still watch my body carefully. I still use conservative therapies including compression and pneumatic compression boots, and I use a GLP-1 as another tool in managing my body and health.

But addressing my lipedema changed much more than my measurements.

In this video, you’ll see me in white pants. Shorts. A bright fuchsia suit. A floral suit.

They’re clothes. But for me, they’re also evidence of something I got back: confidence.

For years I lived with what is sometimes described as “two-body syndrome,” where the upper and lower body can look like they belong to two completely different people. Treating my lipedema allowed me to feel comfortable dressing the body I have instead of constantly trying to hide it.

But lipedema isn’t only cosmetic, and it isn’t only about confidence.

My joints tell another part of this story. By age 55, I had undergone two total knee replacements.

That’s why I’m sharing the whole journey: the surgeries, scars, compression, the lipedema that remains in my arms and the ongoing management, alongside the white pants, shorts, fuchsia suit and floral suit.

Because lipedema can affect mobility, joints, quality of life and how someone feels living inside their own body. And the shame and guilt so many of us carry because of it never belonged to us in the first place.

This is what treating my lipedema gave me: not a “perfect” body and not a cure, but a body I understand, care for and no longer feel compelled to hide.

09/30/2026

So me

09/29/2026

My interest in endometriosis started long before I became an advocate for women’s health. It started with my mom.

Before undergoing a total hysterectomy and excision surgery in 1993, my mother used to mark her “bad days” on a calendar. I remember months when there were only two days that weren’t marked. Two days when her pain wasn’t debilitating.

After her surgery finally addressed her pain and symptoms, endometriosis largely faded from my consciousness.

Until July 10, 2025.

That day, I was at the Massachusetts State House testifying in support of H.2499, legislation focused on menopause care and awareness. The Joint Committee on Public Health was also hearing testimony on legislation to create an endometriosis task force.

I sat and listened to people describe what they had endured trying to get diagnosed, trying to get appropriate care, and simply trying to live their lives while in extraordinary pain.

The stories were gut wrenching. And they brought me right back to my mother and that calendar.

It’s one of the reasons I’ll be attending the Jazz Urbane Café Opening Night fundraiser benefiting Endo Excision for All.

Founded by Nicole Notar, Endo Excision for All works to help patients access expert endometriosis care when financial barriers stand in the way. This evening will bring people together over dinner, entertainment and patient stories while raising money to help patients get the care they need.

For me, this one is personal.

No one should have to measure her life by how many days on the calendar she can function.

I hope you’ll join us.

https://endoexcisionforall.org/roxbury-massachusetts-event

A dinner fundraiser celebrating the opening night of Jazz Urbane Café in Roxbury. Join us for an evening of community, cuisine, and impact benefiting endometriosis care.

09/24/2026

09/23/2026

3:00 AM alarm. ✈️ Boston to DC. 19 hours later, one last look at the Capitol before heading to the hotel.

Yesterday was a very long day. It was also a reminder of why we keep showing up.

I spent the day alongside an incredible group of advocates pushing for better menopause care, better access, better education and policies that actually reflect the realities of the people living through it.

And I was especially proud to be there with my fellow Massachusetts advocates as we brought those conversations directly to the offices of Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Ed Markey.

We talked about the gaps patients encounter every day: clinicians who haven’t been adequately trained, insurance barriers, medication access and affordability, workplace impact, and a healthcare system that too often leaves people piecing together their own care.

This work doesn’t happen in one meeting, one hearing, one piece of legislation or one trip to Washington. It happens because people keep showing up, telling the stories, presenting the evidence, asking the uncomfortable questions and refusing to accept that this is simply the way things are.

From a 3 AM alarm to the Capitol lit up at the end of the night.

19 hours.

Worth every one of them.