Dylan Sprouse is Spreading Endometriosis Awareness, and You Know What? Hell Yeah

Victoria's Secret model Barbara Palvin recently opened up about her experience with endometriosis. Like many women, Palvin suffered for years before learning what's been going on in her body. And by sharing her experience, Palvin is using the most powerful advocacy tools women have at their disposal. 

And now, her husband Dylan Sprouse is doing his part for the cause as well.

It's a powerful reminder that while women have done incredible things to drive awareness around the conditions that affect our bodies, allies can only help us drive awareness and move the needle. And that's what Sprouse is: An ally. 

The actor wore a yellow ribbon on his lapel and carried additional ribbons to hand out when supporting his wife at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. "I brought this endometriosis awareness pin. Do you want one? Because Barbara just went through endo surgery and I'm handing these out tonight just to raise some awareness tonight," he said.

Awareness around women's health issues is so important, and endometriosis is one of those issues that we particularly need to be talking about more. It can take women up to 7-10 years to be diagnosed with endometriosis: That's years of debilitating, unnecessary pain, years of feeling unheard and seeking out answers and solutions, years of wondering what's normal and what isn't. 

It all starts with awareness. When we have a broader cultural awareness of this issue, women and girls can begin to identify their symptoms, rely on community support, and start advocating for themselves in medical settings. 

Sprouse doing his part to drive awareness matters. Not just because we need to be talking about issues like endometriosis more, but also because it speaks volumes when men talk about the realities of women’s bodies. So many of the problems we have in the world of women’s health stem from the reality of how we regard female bodies. We treat them like objects, like they only matter for the way they look and not how women feel in their bodies. But by talking about the realities of how women’s bodies function, Sprouse is chipping away at some of that. Sprouse opted to do this at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, an event that has been criticized for objectifying women’s bodies and only highlighting a specific body type. But by using his time at the event to draw attention to a real women’s health issue, he flipped the script.

We couldn’t applaud this sweet couple more for using their fame and platforms to spread awareness about the cause. One thing is clear: We need people — men and women — talking about endo. 

Ask Clara: Why does endometriosis take so long to be diagnosed?