by Gwynne Hunt

In our forever young and beautiful North American culture nothing scares a woman in her forties more than the word “menopause”.  The average age a women ceases to have her period is 52 and in generation’s past this was indeed; old. Our mothers at 52 were a lot older than women at that same age are today. But still the myth persists that once you go through menopause you”re a dried up, fuzzy thinking, insomniac, who has no libido but lots of hot flashes.  It is such a hot topic these days that there is even a World Menopause Day. That’s right; October 18th  has been declared as World Menopause Day by the International Menopause Society. How do you celebrate menopause day? It is suggested that you visit your doctor and talk about your health risks.

Do that many women have hot flashes, experience painful intercourse, or receive fractures due to osteoporosis? The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada join the International Menopause Society in issuing a challenge to women to have one of the most important discussions of your life with your doctor, on this day.  They also offer media releases that state in large letters that menopausal women are up to three times more likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s than men and believe estrogen may play a role.  It is that kind of information that scares Western women into relying on drugs as they go through this very normal period of their lives.

The World Health Organization joined together with the International Menopause Society to establish World Menopause Day as a positive time to take action and be proactive about your health.  The two agencies do promote nutrition and exercise as the key to good health and a stress-free menopause.  Less media-fear mongering might work just as well.

Western patriarchal cultures treat older women as if they were less valuable members of society but maybe with the progression of fit, healthy older women, the times will change. Western women are tired of the chorus of U’s associated with menopause: unattractive, useless, ugly, undesirable, unhappy and so on. Unfortunately, most of us see menopause as a time of loss; loss of beauty, youth, toned bodies, childbearing capabilities, and libido.

Buying into the hype, a lot of women have extreme symptoms and seek all manner of pills and hormone replacement therapy.  In many other cultures older women are revered and until recently they didn”t even have a word in Japanese for “hot flash”. But as that country becomes more westernized, the global-orientated Japanese have now coined the new words, hotto furasshur (hot flash). Japanese women tend to see menopause more as a time of regeneration and renewal.

Across Indigenous cultures, most often, menopause itself is a transition between being a member of the community to becoming a spiritual elder. Cree women in Canada cannot become shaman or access healing powers until they have entered menopause.  They become wise women, priestesses, healers. In many societies like China, India and Mexico, old age is revered and accompanied by increased status.

Cultural anthropologists have developed the “grandmother hypothesis” to explain our western purpose after menopause.  It is a belief held by many other cultures though, that life after menopause is a time of strength and courage and wisdom, not just the time to be a grandmotherly babysitter. Too many western women tend to view this time of life as a medical condition and seek a cure.  This change of life is only another transition women go through and should be embraced not feared.  It would seem that with less hype and media attention menopause would not be such a serious topic.

There is such controversy over Hormone Replacement Therapy and many studies are finding that the risks outweigh the benefit. A benefit of HRT is reduced hip fractures and colorectal cancer but the increased risk is breast cancer, heart attacks, strokes and blood clots.  Other studies reflect that a good diet and exercise outweigh the benefits of anything you can take to “cure” menopause.  Perhaps western culture should start looking at this time as a time of renewal instead of a time to run to the doctor and get more drugs.

We have become a western culture of “quick fixes”; plastic surgery to look better, hair extensions for longer and luxurious hair, water bras, higher heels than are possible to walk on and so on . . .it is a frenzy to stay young and beautiful.  Ancient cultures saw older, plumper, smiling, peaceful women as beautiful and wise and good.   It is not our evolutionary purpose to only be useful as grandmother figures after menopause, nor are we supposed to live in denial and run after youth.  With menopause comes maturity and wisdom.  It is not a time of life to be afraid of “getting old” and counting losses, it is a time of new energy and reinventing ourselves to live up to our full potentials.