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Women tend to live longer than men, and thus typically have more interactions with the healthcare system in old age than men do. Ageism and stereotypes of older people in general can have an important impact on elders’ physical and mental health and well‐being. For example, internalized negative stereotypes can produce self‐fulfilling prophecies through stereotype embodiment and contribute to weakness and dependency. Ageist beliefs and stereotypes can interfere with health care seeking as well as with diagnosis and treatment recommendations; they can, for example, contribute to gender disparities in the health care of older adults if older women are perceived as too frail to undergo aggressive treatments. Ageism also results in disrespectful treatment of older patients, which is communicated through baby talk and other forms of infantilization or the shrugging off of patients’ complaints and concerns as “just old age.” Intersectional identities can result in a cumulative burden for older women patients who may have a history of disrespectful treatment for other reasons (e.g., sexism, racism, bias against lesbians). Reduction of ageism and sexism and promotion of more realistic and diverse views of older women could improve doctor–patient relationships, facilitate adherence to treatment regimens, and reduce disparities in health and health care.

Menstruation has long been viewed as an important aspect of women's health. However, scholars and healthcare providers have only recently begun to recognise that transgender men and people with masculine gender identities also menstruate, thus little is known about their attitudes toward and experiences with menstruation. A sample of masculine of centre and transgender individuals with a mean age of 30 years was recruited online to complete measures of attitudes toward menstruation and menstrual suppression and to answer exploratory questions about their experiences managing menstruation. Participants reported mixed attitudes toward menstruation, but generally positive attitudes toward menstrual suppression. Many participants said that they try to avoid public restrooms during menstruation because of practical and psychological concerns. Implications of our findings for the transgender health are discussed.

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