Inside Gloria Steinem’s Living Room, an Endometriosis Talking Circle Finds Its Voice
3 min readIt’s hard to imagine a group of women more abuzz than the one gathered in Gloria Steinem’s living room on Wednesday afternoon. Guests had just been ushered upstairs, where Steinem herself was sitting in a big red armchair. As late afternoon sunlight poured through floor-length windows bordered by golden curtains, attendees took turns crouching beside the legendary activist, shaking her hand and introducing themselves in low murmurs. Everyone was there for a discussion about endometriosis, a chronic inflammatory condition in which cells similar to the uterine lining grow outside the uterus, co-hosted by Chelsea Leyland and Tatiana Steel, founders of Looni, a platform offering support to women through their hormonal and reproductive health experiences, and sponsored by Spring Fertility and Allara Health.
Steinem’s home has long hosted lively, women-led discussions, thanks to her famous Talking Circles, which have been taking place for over half a century. Looni’s event continued in this tradition by gathering women who have endometriosis (including actress and model Elsie Hewitt), along with experts in the field, doctors, and advocates.
Before the discussion began, guests were offered water, tea, and nonalcoholic whiskey, told the bathroom was through Steinem’s room (and assured that yes, it’s okay to walk through it), and given pens from a large green flowerpot so they could write their “one truth” to pass on about endometriosis. Steinem shared why Talking Circles are so important to her. “I love that it doesn’t have a president or a vice president, we’re all part of it,” she said. “We can all participate and agree and disagree and learn and discover what we thought we knew was wrong. Great things happen in the circle.”
Leyland kicked off the chat by saying that she and Steel have been hosting Talking Circles at Looni for years, heavily influenced by Steinem. She asked everyone to go around the room and share who they are and a word that comes to mind when they think of endometriosis, which jump-started an hour of everyone sharing their relationship with the chronic disease. One artist talked about how she channels her pain through her work. A former athlete spoke about going from being a high-performance competitor to needing to be carried to do simple tasks like getting the mail.
Hewitt’s word was “isolating.” “I felt completely alone and completely lost. Nobody knows what direction to point you in and it’s this big gap in the system,” she said about her own journey navigating the condition. “I got my surgery, I had barely recovered from it, and then I got pregnant, and I had a baby in December of 2025. I want to help move the needle in any way I can, because I’m infuriated that the only way we can find out if we have it is by going through a major surgery, that’s just the most insane, unfair thing ever.”
She said she was worried her daughter, Scottie, might someday have to deal with endometriosis too. “I am very dedicated to creating a world that my daughter can step into and have the support that she needs because God forbid she has to go through the same pain as me, I want her to feel safe.”
Another notable attendee was Tamer Seckin, MD, an advanced laparoscopic surgeon and co-founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of America, who Lena Dunham wrote about in her latest novel, Famesick (he’s also her surgeon). He said he hopes that in the future, more doctors will be trained on early symptoms, since timely intervention is the best way to manage endometriosis. “There are tons of symptoms, but that magic question [is], does it flare up with your period?”
“A common theme for every woman who is seeking a diagnosis or has received a diagnosis is that they feel so unaware of what is going on in our own bodies,” Hewitt added. “All of these feminine hygiene products are called things like ‘secret’—it’s not a secret.”
Scroll through the gallery below for an exclusive look inside the event.
