Women in a south Indian fishing village: Role identity, continuity, and the experience of menopause

Abstract

A study was conducted of the experience of menopause among middle-aged women in a fishing village on the southwest coast of India. These women live in a harsh environment with a standard of living that would be considered economically deprived by an outsider. The women have established their identity as fish sellers. Although they reported experiencing some of the physiological symptoms of menopause typically reported in Western literature, the symptoms were not cause for complaint, and none of them sought medical treatment for them. Nor did these women go through an identity crisis at midlife; they continued to identify themselves as well-established fish sellers, not as redundant, aging housewives. Furthermore, menopause gave them much more time and freedom to pursue their fish-selling business. This paper posits that their continuity in identity accounts for their freedom from the psychological symptoms some Western women experience at midlife.

Mid-age health in women from the Indian subcontinent (MAHWIS): general health and the experience of menopause in women

“…The 7.3% prevalence of vaginal dryness was lowest in the Delhi group and similar to the previously reported rates of 5-11% in other studies from the region 5,8,9 . The prevalence of sexual problems in the UK Asian group may be related to the higher psychological morbidity known to occur in the immigrant population 17 .…”

“…There is evidence that the menopause can have a positive meaning in terms of enhanced mobility, freedom from unwanted pregnancies and authority for women from rural communities in India [4][5][6] . However, studies from the urban areas of Northern India and Pakistan have tended to show a close similarity in the symptom profile to western populations [7][8][9] .…”

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Associated With Menopause: A Multi-ethnic, Qualitative Study in Singapore

“…The participants in this study considered menopause to be a sign of getting old, and some expressed the belief that they would lose their youthfulness and no longer be attractive. Although aging has been linked with menopausal change in research with Asian women, it has tended to be viewed in a positive light, due to freeing women from the restrictions associated with childbearing and menstruation (George, 1996;Kaur et al, 2009). While the hormonal changes of menopause have not been shown to hasten aging, studies have revealed that for many Western women the physical changes of aging and menopause are not differentiated (Dickson, 1994;Hunter et al, 2009;Walter, 2000).…”

Somatic, mood, and vasomotor symptoms at midlife in relation to family structure and household workloads in Sylhet, Bangladesh

“…The reason for these symptoms may include the hormonal changes of menopause, the wear and tear of aging, or socio-cultural factors related to changing family roles (Hardy and Kuh 2002;Dennerstein et al 2000;Gold et al 2000). Studies of menopausal symptoms in South Asia have been carried out in India (George 1996;Gupta et al 2006;Kaur et al 2004;Randhawa et al 1987;Sengupta 2003;Singh and Arora 2005) and, less frequently, Pakistan (Nusrat et al 2008;Yahya and Rehan 2003), Sri Lanka (Waidyasekara et al 2009), and Nepal (Chuni and Sreeramaredy 2011). To our knowledge, this is the first study to focus on symptom experience at midlife in Bangladesh (Sievert et al 2008).…”