"Even the Queen" is a science fiction short story by Connie Willis, exploring the long-term cultural effects of scientific control of menstruation.
Three generations of women discuss the decision of one of their daughters to join the "Cyclists", a group of traditionalist women who have chosen to menstruate even though scientific breakthroughs (in particular, a substance called "ammenerol") have made this unnecessary.
The title refers to the fact that "even the Queen" (of the United Kingdom) menstruated.
[3] Laura Quilter, conversely, felt that it was "more of a diatribe against" feminism, with its humor being largely "its rather mean-spirited depiction of various strains of feminism";[4] Quilter subsequently specified that although the story "had some truthfulness & consequently some honest humor", she found it to be "hugely over-rated".
[5] The Village Voice considers it "light-hearted" and "a comedy of identity politics and mother-daughter relations",[6] while Billboard, reviewing the audiobook, describes it as a "sly jab at both feminists and anti-feminists.