The menopause moment: The rising visibility of ‘the change’ in UK news coverage

Abstract

Drawing on feminist scholarship that interrogates cultural representations of ageing women, this article examines UK news coverage of menopause from 2001 to 2021. We show that not only has there been a dramatic rise in menopause’s visibility since 2015, and especially since 2021, but that the coverage is concentrated in the conservative right-wing press. We also document six peaks in coverage, which are driven by celebrity stories, news about menopause-related medical guidelines, national hormone replacement therapy shortages and menopause-related governmental interventions, as well as the use of menopause as a metaphor for the economy. Based on these findings, we discuss some key social, cultural and economic forces that may help explain menopause’s heightened visibility. These include the rise of popular neoliberal feminism, celebrity culture, changing demographics and changes to UK work policy, ideological notions of biological womanhood and the influence of Big Pharma. We conclude by highlighting how menopause’s new luminosity contributes to challenging its traditional invisibility and negative framing, and gendered ageism more broadly. Yet, at the same time, in its current iteration, menopause’s increased visibility may reinforce a neoliberal feminist framework that deflects attention away from understanding menopause as a social and cultural issue, while also buttressing narrow conceptions of femininity and supporting neoliberal policies that aim to keep older women in the workforce for longer.

Mediating menopause: Feminism, neoliberalism, and biomedicalisation

“…These critiques notwithstanding, the show undoubtedly created a media stir and the coverage was largely very positive, suggesting that Davina struck a cultural chord. Indeed, as we demonstrate elsewhere, the programme increased media attention around menopause (Orgad and Rottenberg, 2023). It was able to do so because of a convergence of social, cultural and economic forces as well as due to the specific discourses upon which it draws, which we discuss below.…”

“…We see this in the growing number of extremely high-profile women, such as Angela Jolie, Michelle Obama, Naomi Watts and Gwyneth Paltrow, speaking publicly about their experiences; the flurry of best-selling books written by women on the topic, e.g. Cracking the Menopause While Keeping Yourself Together (Frostrup and Smellie, 2021) and The Menopause Manifesto (Gunter, 2021); and portrayals of menopause in popular television shows, such as The Change (Channel 4), And Just Like That (HBO Max) and Borgen (Netflix) (Orgad and Rottenberg, 2023;Jermyn, 2023). At the time of writing, London's underground is plastered with advertisements for the personalised menopause care app Stella and the menopause supplement Menopace, which features the 50-year-old UK television presenter Gabby Logan and the slogan 'embrace the change'.…”

“…Today, however, not only has menopause talk increased substantially in the UK, and most significantly since 2021, but its framing also seems to have shifted: from a negative biomedical frame that centres a biologically determined hormonal body in decay (Roberts, 2007) to a more positive psychological oneeven if still hormone focusedemphasising menopause as an experience of female (and almost exclusively cis-gendered) self-transformation, empowerment and even liberation (Orgad and Rottenberg, 2023;Jermyn, 2023). This significantly heightened public attention and seemingly different framing therefore beg the as-yet-unaddressed question: why is there so much talk about menopause now?…”

General practitioners’ and women’s experiences of perimenopause consultations: A qualitative evidence synthesis protocol

“…A meta-ethnography was chosen as the most suitable approach to enable the development of a conceptual understanding of the experiences of perimenopausal consultations as experienced by both GPs and women in the context of general practice. Given the surge of attention given to menopause and perimenopause in the media 20,21,34 as well as primary qualitative research 25,[35][36][37] conducting this qualitative evidencesynthesis is timely. As recommended 32,38 a research team with suitable expertise and skills has been established to conduct this meta-ethnography.…”

“…Perimenopause and menopause have garnered much media attention in recent years, peaking in 2021-2022 20,21 with work-related and healthcare-related policy responses in various countries, including the United Kingdom and Ireland 22,23 . It has been said that increased media attention has empowered women to discuss their experiences more openly and seek medical help, increasing requests for prescriptions for hormone replacement therapy from GPs 24 .…”