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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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The Menopause Manifesto summary
Jen Gunter
Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism
20 mins
Table of Contents
The Menopause Manifesto
Summary of 7 key ideas
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Key idea 1 of 7
We need to start talking about menopause!
How often have you heard the word “menopause” in a movie, book, or TV show?
Maybe once or twice at most. Probably never.
Periods, at least, are joked about. But menopause is one of those topics that our society prefers not to discuss. We have the patriarchy to thank for that.
For centuries, our culture has nursed the idea that when a woman is no longer able to reproduce, she loses her social worth. Menopause was – and still is – viewed as some kind of biological flaw. It’s not.
Menopause occurs when there are no more follicles in our ovaries capable of ovulating. The final menstrual period, or FMP, typically happens between the ages of 50 and 52. But the menopause transition starts much earlier. Just like with puberty, the years leading up to the FMP are a bit of a hormonal mess. Irregular, missing, or very heavy periods are common. The natural drop of our estrogen levels is associated with a variety of other symptoms – from hot flashes to sleep disturbances to more serious health concerns, like osteoporosis.
But menopause itself isn’t some kind of disease. It’s a universal and purposeful feature of our biology.
The word “menopause” itself may not be very good at conveying that. Conceived by a French doctor in 1812, it’s a combination of the Greek words menes, meaning month, and pausie, meaning cessation. In the US, the term rose to prominence in the 1960s, when it was used to market hormone therapy. Pharma companies used it because “pause” sounds temporary – as if your periods would come back at some point. That’s misleading. “Pause” can also sound a little negative – as if life is on hold when you stop having periods.
Other countries have nicer expressions. The Dutch call menopause overgang, meaning “passage” or “bridge.” The Japanese call it kōnenki, which translates to “change of life.” Research suggests that women in countries with more positive terms suffer less with menopause symptoms.
It might be too big a task to change the word “menopause.” But we need to break our cultural silence around the topic. Many people today still don’t know what to expect when they enter the menopause transition. As a consequence, they don’t get the support they deserve. Considering that most of us will spend at least a third of our life menopausal, this is outrageous. It’s time we talked about menopause.
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What is The Menopause Manifesto about?
The Menopause Manifesto (2021) is your roadmap to health and happiness before, during, and after menopause. Despite being the most important transition for uterus-owners after puberty, menopause is shrouded in mystery and prejudice. This guide combats ignorance with scientific facts, expert advice, and a healthy dose of feminism.
Who should read The Menopause Manifesto?
- Menstruators and ex-menstruators
- Science communicators and health educators
- Anyone invested in women’s health
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