Naomi Watts sighs when she thinks about how menopause was portrayed in movies when she was growing up.
It was all jokes about hot flashes and emotional, hormonal women.
No one talked much about it then, so the big screen was the only place she learned about the midlife moment. Those scenes shaped her view so much that she didn’t even realize many of her own symptoms – from dry eyes to frozen shoulder – were signs that she was nearing menopause.
Now at 57, Watts wants to change this narrative.
Podcasters, creators, comedians and writers are taking menopause conversations from taboo to mainstream. And Hollywood producers need to follow, Watts says. She is pushing for more stories that redefine midlife as a time of power, not decline.
