The older woman is a classic Hollywood trope, from golden girls to Stifler’s mom.
But suddenly, the joke’s on anyone who doesn’t take women of a certain age seriously. Money goes where the attention flows — from celebrity menopreneurs like Naomi Watts (Stripes) and Judy Greer (Wile) to the renaissances of Jennifer Coolidge and Pamela Anderson, middle-aged women are finally en vogue.
The question is: is this “the change” we really need?
Not Your Mama’s Menopause
Beyond the celebrity-driven spotlight, there are copious reasons why menopause is having a moment — notably because Generation X isn’t the type to suffer in silence. By 2025, over 1 billion women worldwide will be experiencing menopause.
Currently, 85% of perimenopausal and menopausal women live with debilitating symptoms, including hot flashes, brain fog, insomnia, night sweats, depression, osteoporosis, low libido, hair loss, and painful sex. Statistics like this make how we’ve been misled about menopause egregious.
For many women, menopause becomes a new struggle to control our bodies, not because of legislation or religion but because of a lack of knowledge on our part and also on the part of our doctors.
Wondering why there isn’t a commonly prescribed treatment for menopause? Great question — one that should give us all pause.
There actually is a protocol that, for most women under 60, is worth considering despite incremental risks related to cancer and the cardiovascular system: hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
In 2002, when the risks were first identified by researchers conducting the Women’s Health Initiative — the largest randomized women-only study ever undertaken — the trial prematurely ended thanks to panic generated by negative media coverage. At the same time, menopause education was almost totally cut from medical school curriculum.
The domino effect of this epic failure continues today, as a generation of patients and doctors are under-educated about HRT. While it’s not a cure-all, it can be very effective. There are also helpful non-hormonal treatments, including SSRIs and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Options, like everything else about middle-aged women, deserve more attention.
Take Back Your Menopower
Now that we know we’ve been sold (another) bill of goods about our health, the best way to get relief is to get educated. The good news is there’s no lack of menopause femtech startups, so begin there or with your doctor.
Always remember, there’s no better advocate for you than yourself. For inspiration on how not to be underestimated and take control of your life, take a page from Pamela Anderson’s new book.
I became a warrior,
A destroyer
Of old beliefs,
Slaying dragons.
I embraced the illuminating thought:
I am “good enough.”
I am powerful—Oh am I.
And oh, so are you. That’s the joy of being an older woman.
Women Have Been Misled About Menopause (New York Times)
The Midlife Renaissance of Women in Hollywood (The Atlantic)
