The menopause is a natural part of the female life cycle. But why do women become invisible after the menopause? Dr Jen Gunter answers my question 'Ain't I A Woman?"
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Menopause is defined as the end of periods and reproductive ability in women. It is described retrospectively: following one year of no periods. On average womxn enter menopause around 51 years of age. Once in this phase of their lives, women mysteriously disappear. They disappear from our screens, from agendas, and from our discourse.
Menopausal issues such as incontinence, hot flushes, and mood changes, that have a significant impact on quality of life, are not spoken of.
But the menopause is more than menopausal symptoms.
In this piece, we question concepts on femininity, language, and advocacy around menopause with Dr. Jen Gunter. Watch the conversation below:
Dr. Jennifer Gunter is a Canadian-American gynecologist, a New York Times columnist, and author of bestsellers “Menopause Manifesto” and “The Vaginal Bible”.
Also known as the Resident Twitter Gynecologist, Dr. Jen Gunter is on a mission to correct the misinformation and disinformation that infects online medical resources.
She advocates for more responsible health coverage by the news media, for less weight to be given to health advice by celebrities, and for doctors to communicate better with their patients.
Follow her on Twitter @DrJenGunter
Your womanhood has nothing to do with your ovaries or reproductive potential.
On the funniest but also saddest myth about menopause she has heard: "...that menopause is a modern construct because women are now living long enough. The thing that bothers me is myths like this erase every grandmother from history".
Menopause needs to be taught in schools, because if you don’t talk about something, the implication is that it is wrong, a mistake, and shameful.
In my pieces, I use the terms:
girls, women, womxn, pregnant people and birthing people to refer to some of the reproductive health experiences of individuals assigned female at birth
minoritised in place of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous & people of color), POC (people of color), BAME (Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic) and BME (Black & Minority Ethnic) to recognise that different individuals and communities do not naturally exist as minorities; but instead have been assigned this identity in response to dominant social narratives centred on ‘whiteness’. ‘Minoritised’ highlights contemporary power imbalances rooted in historical events of slavery, colonisation, and other systems of oppression.
The menopause is a natural part of the female life cycle. But why do women become invisible after the menopause? Dr Jen Gunter answers my question 'Ain't I A Woman?"
The menopause is a natural part of the female life cycle. But why do women become invisible after the menopause? Dr Naghat ARif answers my question " Ain't I A Woman?"
In this game of gonads, who decided that a testicle is worth more than an ovary?
To deputise a complete stranger to interfere with a woman’s health choice is constitutionally, medically, morally and ethically wrong. That's the end of my sentence.
Cervical cancer can be prevented. When detected early it can be treated and cured with surgery. As we mark the one year anniversary of the "Cervical Cancer Elimination Day of Action", I reflect on the role of surgical systems in eliminating cervical cancer.
Adolescents make up 16% of the population and straddle the sometimes uncomfortable gap between childhood and adulthood. Seeking out information on the internet makes sense but at what cost?
Periods don't have to cost us education, equity and the environment
We had no say in the decision of when, how, where and to whom we were born. Yet this was one of the most important decisions in our lives, which continues to impact us today.
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