ABSTRACT
Women’s experiences of menopause are diverse. Yet, in my research with midlife women in Southwest England, three dominant narratives of menopause emerged: first, as a normal, inevitable, natural process, distinct from self and social transitions; second, as distress, shame, identity loss and social upheaval; third, as a rite of passage involving both psychic and social transformation. In the first two narratives, bodily sensations are unwanted, embarrassing, silenced and indicative of incompetence. Symptomatic women may feel ashamed or be denigrated by others for ‘performing’ menopause. Embedded in our cultural understanding of menopause is the incompetent, hysterical woman. Here, menopause is dismissed, denied or dreaded. These images and experiences are not inevitable; they are part of a medicalised gender order, which diminishes the potency of older women.
