Advertisers exploit our misogynistic culture, making women feel as if their bodies are broken. But better information might just help
H
ow was your Menopause Awareness Day 2025? Did you slip out of your meno pyjamas, sip your meno tea with a slice of homemade flaxseed-added bread and a side order of meno chocolate? Did you rush off to the gym to lift weights then to a pilates class to keep you healthy for ever? Did you remember your MHT (menopause hormone therapy – the now widely accepted term for HRT) pill, patch, gel, pessary, suppository or cream, trusting your GP or private clinic to be prescribing for you and only you, grateful that finally medication has made a difference for you? Or did you think: “How the hell do I know what is right for me?”
If you wondered who you can trust, you’re not alone. In an Australian study published earlier this month, more than 500 women aged 45-64 noted “significant scepticism” about the motives of the pharmaceutical industry, along with genuine concern about who to trust and who was after their money at a vulnerable time of life. Now researchers warn that women are being exploited in a “menopause gold rush”.
My own menopause was ghastly. If you think hot flushes are bad (they are), try 40 an hour in your 30s while having chemotherapy, then radiotherapy, then failing IVF, and all the while with none of your mates understanding what you’re going through. This was more than 20 years ago, when the menopause discussion was virtually nonexistent – and while we can all be glad things have changed in the past decade, the way menopause is now being sold should raise cause for concern for anyone approaching menopause.
