The next phase

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This article was published 29/05/2021 (1876 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ah, menopause. Even if you’re not in this phase of life, you may already be exhausted by its stigma — from misogyny itself, and from women who’ve been culturally conditioned to share “life is over” messages.

With The Menopause Manifesto, Dr. Jen Gunter hopes to address the confusion and stereotypes surrounding menopause — and take a swipe at the patriarchy while she’s at it.

An obstetrician and gynecologist for nearly three decades, Dr. Gunter is the author of the bestseller The Vagina Bible. She’s known as Twitter’s resident gynecologist and is a fierce advocate for women’s health. Dr. Gunter was born and raised in Winnipeg, and currently lives near San Francisco.

The Menopause Manifesto explores a wealth of women’s health issues: perimenopause, hot flashes, sleep disruption, heart health, sex, depression, osteoporosis, diet and exercise and the controversial topic of menopausal hormone therapy.

To begin, Dr. Gunter chronicles the origin of the word “menopause.” Her quick take is the word “pause” represents a negative view that women should hold back as they get older and diminish as they age. She flips the script and wonders how society would react to calling erectile dysfunction “erectopause.”

When delving into the manifesto (which can be overwhelming), keep the basics in mind: your genetics, age, weight, diet and whether you are a smoker or non-smoker. It’s easy to find chapters relevant to your health concerns.

Like The Vagina Bible, Dr. Gunter calls out celebrities and their revenue-generating wellness “cures.” In addition to her favourite foe, actress Gwyneth Paltrow (and her line of Goop wellness products), she also spotlights solutions hawked by actress turned diet guru Suzanne Somers (bioidentical hormones) and Oprah Winfrey’s link to Dr. Christine Northrup, a well-known antivaxxer who promoties QAnon conspiracy theories.

Heart health is a vital section. Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death for women, yet in popular culture it is male heart-attack symptoms which are often showcased. Women having heart attacks are more likely to have shortness of breath, fatigue, body aches, cold sweats, palpitations, weakness and unusual sensations in the back or arms.

“As there is significant overlap in symptoms of anxiety, hot flushes, and heart attack, it takes a dedicated healthcare professional to make sure all three are being considered, not just the two that aren’t fatal,” says Dr. Gunter.

She is a proponent of exercise and diet as means to manage health. “A healthy diet has many benefits, from lowering the risk of heart disease… reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, preventing constipation and hemorrhoids, lowering the risk of colon cancer, and reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease to name a few.”

While much of the advice is practical and fact-based, the section involving treatment options is odd. Dr. Gunter notes that some American women are financially incentivized (due to health insurance policies) to have surgery, versus exploring other potentially more expensive, longer-term options of medical care. She then states the U.K. and most European countries have universal healthcare and paid sick leave. As a Canadian, it’s bizarre she fails to include Canada in that grouping.

The Menopause Manifesto provides a lot of valuable information from an unapologetically feminist perspective. It’s something that can rest in your bookshelf like an old friend, offering facts, advice and the occasional rant about the patriarchy whenever you need it.

Deborah Bowers is a marketing and communications professional.

Dr. Jen Gunter will discuss The Menopause Manifesto with Free Press columnist Jen Zoratti in a virtual event on Thursday, June 17. To register and for more information, see wfp.to/gunter.