ABSTRACT
As the baby boomers arrived at midlife, they have had a profound influence on medical and lay literature focusing on this part of the lifespan. Papers about menopause and health have become increasingly prevalent in the medical and lay literature, including feminist perspectives such as Greer’s (1992). Among popular books are dozens of guides to the menopausal experience. Studies have been launched about the menopausal experience and the health of midlife women and men, and in 1993 the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of Nursing Research held a conference on menopause to develop a research agenda. The cohort of women that experienced the medicalization of the menstrual cycle (for example, the dramatic increase in work on PMS) is now facing redefinition of their menopause as a medical phenomenon. The purpose of this paper will be to examine the current medical discourse about midlife women’s health, comparing it to findings from recently published and ongoing works about women’s health-related experiences during midlife.
