iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

broadcast this beyond the white-collar/intellectual elite class who are already in this convo. I don't think any thoughtful analysis of AOC's journey, subversive as it is, will view the current industry as a whole as acceptable. More access, more choice, more reproductive freedom. for all. 2/2

000

I do think one of the more important angles of fertility-preservation conversation is about class/SES, and the ways that her decision may signal her own SES/class change. I'm so grateful she's got a wide platform that will 1/

today's rambling on @aoclover.bsky.social's egg freezing journey (i.e. the only reason I'm temporarily enduring the drudgery of instagram)

000

@aoc.bsky.social obviously understands this, and I think by posting real-time, she's showing us all that working for a better world involves opening yourself up to disappointments and risks. Her approach is inherently not a false promise, because she doesn't know how it ends either. 5/5 (or 6/6 lol)

As I said above, I think the profit-driven fertility industry is in cahoots with patriarchal capitalism. BUT -- the underlying technology and availability of fertility preservation IS NOT. 4/

numbertwopencil.substack.com

@aoc.bsky.social's subversive media capture is highlighted in @peltzmadeline.bsky.social's piece re of the conservative panic/backlash. One piece in particular stood out to me in reading her coverage of the anti-abortion activist Emma Waters calling AOC's choice a collusion with "Big Fertility."

AOC talking about freezing her eggs just exposed the whole “tradwife” phenomenon

Anti-feminist influencers calling the congresswoman "wildly performative," but that's the whole point.

122

IMO @aoc.bsky.social is actually subverting the profit-driven marketing schemes that these fertility clinics often peddle. Instead, her message is: hey - let's know our bodies, think about how we invest in our futures, and challenge the misogynist assumption that we don't get to expect more. 3/

100

She is exposing herself, publicly, to possible disappointment, to an incredibly vulnerable and uncertain process, without knowing how it will end for her. She isn't talking about how many eggs she wants and then calculating out the $/egg. She isn't optimizing. 2/

100

One of my biggest critiques of the fertility industry (based on my experience with it) is how it colludes with capitalistic, profit-oriented, certainty-based linear thinking and predictability. @aoc.bsky.social going public DURING the process opens this convo up in such a different way ... 1/

100

one of my favorite things about @aoc.bsky.social documenting this journey is that she's bringing us along live. She doesn't know how it's going to turn out -- either results-wise or even physical/emotional impact wise -- but she's platforming it anyway.

100

Sending love and strength to anyone navigating this path. No matter where you find yourself on it, it can be exhausting. Thrilled that @aoc.bsky.social (and Sara Jacobs before her) are elevating the conversation.

I'm obviously not an endocrinologist or women's health expert, and am not trying to be. It's just ... people without resources to be able to undergo numerous retrievals might never figure this out. It's totally bananas. I also think it's wasteful and harmful. 13/

120

that my friends' doctor raised the silent endo issue. All of a sudden, I felt lucky that my doctor -- again, who I like -- flagged this for me early, who gave me information about my body that might explain what is happening inside of it. 12/

100

My other friend, who has not been able to get pregnant, just started her endo testing journey. She's had two failed transfers, and it was only after those losses -- which I'm speaking about using IVF terminology, but are actually full of weeks and weeks of hormones and hoping to be pregnant ... 11/

100

One of them is pregnant and was officially diagnosed with silent endo. BUT, she was only diagnosed after she had two failed transfers. And this friend lost 4 of her 6 embryos. *TWO* of which were diagnostic criteria to even be considered for silent endo testing. 10/

100

I have two friends who are in the process of trying to get pregnant with frozen embryos (I am not). Both of them have now been tested for "silent" endometriosis, aka endometriosis that does not come with physical pain side effects. 9/

100

To just skip ahead to the conclusion of my story - I finally finished the second retreival in mid-July. It was fine, not great, but consistent with my resigned/realistic goal. I feel deep relief with it behind me. But I've learned more about endometriosis and its impact on fertility since. 8/

I don't get physical pain with my periods, so this surprised me. But she said: "that'd explain basically everything." I was stunned. This was probably ultrasound #15, numerous of other ones had logged cysts (possible endometriomas. Again, not gonna get too far into this). 7/

100

regulate so that I could make a second retrieval "worth" it. (I had budgeted, barely, for 2 retreivals). In *JUNE,* after a cancelled cycle and one that was delayed, my doctor during an ultrasound said "huh, you know what? I think you have endometriosis." 6/

100

I don't want to make Bluesky into the Reddit threads, so I'm also not going to go into my own numbers right now, but in January I had a retreival that resulted in very few mature eggs. Over the course of the next 6 months, I was in and out of the clinic, trying to get my follicles to ...

100

This experience also led me to switch from a university system doctor to the private clinic, where I spent October through July navigating, with deep frustration, my DOR diagnosis and trying to have a "successful" egg retreival. 4/

100

I'm going to skip over the horrifically bad bedside manner (which is really not nothing, but involves very tender personal things). Just know that a doctor told me something about my DOR diagnosis that made me so stressed that I didn't get my period for 90 days. 3/

100

During the fertility check @aoc.bsky.social is talking about, I was diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR), which I guess means that I have fewer eggs than most people my age and that my body is less likely to respond to the egg freezing stimulating medication. 2/

100

Yell In a War @jelenawoehr.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Ok she posted a new one so some thoughts on the endometriosis drop to just draw out how complex this can be. And I think the bottom line is: women, girls, people with uteruses and menstruating bodies, deserve to understand and make choices about their own bodies and health without exorbitant cost.

120

Reposted by Emily Grant

thread on EggOC complexities

061

Also, because conservatives are losing their mind, I feel like we're about to defend the likeness of the current fertility system. We should defend it only in that we also deserve much more.

On costco & dystopian experience of calling various pharmacies to compare costs -- It Happened To Me and yes, it was insane. Plus my pharmacy has lots of "fun" add on charges and somehow they also have the best prices. Did a lot of hormonal-rage reserach on this a month ago, lol.

100

(But also, it's true that day 2 of hormones is sort of okay!) Also, everyone is their own person and knows how to manage their own capacity. All to say though: injecting synthetic hormones to make your ovaries like the hulk is really, really not nothing.

To @aoc.bsky.social's point about normalizing hormones and that she injected herself and that had a great interview -- totally. But normalizing this might mean that some people who inject hormones (for whatever reason) actually wouldn't be able to nail an interview right after.

120

... Seriously question the ways we pretend this isn't a major decision, or that it doesn't have a major impact on your body, heart, and brain. It did for me. Maybe one day I'll write about it! (By this I mean I'm writing about it, but maybe one day it will see the light of day 😜)

140

Absolutely we should be making it more accessible and talking about it. BUT. It can have a really intense impact on your mental health, your physical health, and it's not just the two weeks. I would never, ever discourage someone to consider freezing their eggs. But I do . . .