Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball don't shy away from important and difficult subjects during their Dig It podcast.
The pair have touched on grief, caring for elderly relatives and being the sandwich generation, alongside regular debates around menopause and HRT.
Recently, they've brought up one of the most "underdiscussed," but hugely important aspects of being a woman: Female pain.
The conversation was sparked after Jo's husband, Steve "Disco Steve" Morton, had expressed trepidation about a procedure he needed being painful.
This had caused Jo to reflect on the fact women suffer more discomfort in their lives than men, and also that this has become normalised for them. It also raises the question, why are we continuing to normalise it and not challenge it?
"As a woman, you have so many procedures and things happen to you that really hurt," Jo begins, adding, "but it's just part of being a woman and part of life."
Zoe jumps in to say, "We have periods, that's a thing - from a very young age we have chronic period pain every month."
She continues, "You sort of get used to that, and then we have smear tests, and not all women, but a lot of women are happy to talk about these things."
Returning to the debate, Jo adds, "We have so much painful stuff going on whether it's periods, menopause, health checks, having babies, that you just accept and get on with it."
The presenter refers to women as being "tough," which is certainly true, but largely because there is no other choice.
A report from the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) looking at female pain, found that medical misogyny is rife for women experiencing painful reproductive health conditions.
High numbers of women are having "their symptoms ‘normalised’ and their ‘pain dismissed,’" according to the report findings.
In response, the government acknowledges the impact that reproductive health conditions and subsequent pain issues have on women’s lives, relationships, and ability to go to work.
Strategies have been proposed to improve outcomes, with the intent that women shouldn't have to become "stoic" and live with unnecessary pain as an expected part of their day-to-day lives.
Zoe and Jo's take on pain and women's issues also struck a chord with their listeners. When the segment from the podcast was posted to Instagram, many women commented to have their say.
One person said, "This is amazing! I've just been speaking to my daughter who has debilitating period pain."
"Why is there no education around pain associated with women’s health and the different ways in which it manifests itself throughout our lives?"
"There’s so much worry about what’s normal or abnormal because we’re expected to just get on with it. Thank you."
Challenging women being referred to as "tough," another person spoke out to say, "We are tough as women, BUT we shouldn’t just have to put up with a lot of it."
"We must encourage girls and women to speak out and be heard, particularly by healthcare professionals. Women’s health is so important."
