How Swim Search Finalist Gigi Robinson Suggests Women Advocate for Their Health

Gigi Robinson.NBC/Getty Images

When she became a Swim Search finalist last year, Gigi Robinson was the first-ever Gen Z and chronically ill woman to be featured in the magazine. Robinson uses her platform to advocate for women’s health issues and detailed her experience with endometriosis with SI Swimsuit earlier this month.

The 24-year-old, who recently published a children’s book, A Kids Book About Chronic Illness, was featured on Today on Tuesday. She opened up about her health journey and provided some great advice for fellow women when it comes to health advocacy.

“Pay really close attention to what’s going on in your body,” she offered. “Monitoring your symptoms, writing a medical journal or medical diary [noting] do you have pain certain times of the month, is it repetitive, does it happen every month, does it happen every other month, does it happen when you travel? And the more that you pay attention to what’s going on inside, the more you’re able to speak about it on the outside and actually get a diagnosis or hopefully create change.”

Robinson, who deals with a number of chronic illnesses including Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), uses her platform for good in the hopes of helping other women get answers about their health issues.

“If it was physical, if I was growing different spots or [had] swelling in different areas of my body, it would be looked at immediately [by a doctor],” she said of her own health journey. “That’s my entire mission—raising awareness for invisible forms of health issues and disability allyship. It’s frustrating that that’s the case and that’s why I wont stop.”

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