Abstract
Biomedical literature suggests that menopause primarily represents negative change in women’s lives. Feminist literature on menopause proposes that it can represent positive change or is a neutral experience for individual women. Conflicting characterizations result from different empirical emphases; biomedical research has focused on bodily change, and feminist research has highlighted social contexts for menopause. Results from interviews with a snowball sample of 61 women in 2001 illustrate how a change discourse on menopause and gendered beauty ideals combine to create a context within which some women believe that changes in their physical appearances can be attributed to menopause and that bodily change is problematic. In addition, during focus groups and in-depth interviews, women suggested that, in the face of these discourses or ideologies and changing external bodies, they face a “category crisis.’’ Interviewees also discussed how they attempt to prevent/mask bodily change in order to remain attractive, visibly feminine, and desirable in the eyes of men. Findings from this qualitative study illustrate that we must continue to explore women’s perceptions and experiences of bodily change during menopause, as we lack a full understanding of this developmental transition and its biosocial contexts.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Avis, N., & McKinlay, S. (1991). A longitudinal analysis of women’s attitudes toward the menopause: Results from the Massachusetts Women’s Health Study. Maturitas, 13, 65–79.
Barbre, J. W. (1993). Meno-boomers and moral guardians: An exploration of the cultural construction of menopause. In J. Callahan (Ed.), Menopause: A midlife passage (pp. 23–35). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Bartky, S. L. (2003). Foucault, femininity, and the modernization of patriarchal power. In R. Weitz (Ed.), The politics of women’s bodies: Sexuality, appearance, and behavior (pp. 25–45). New York: Oxford University Press.
Bell, S. (1987). Changing ideas: The medicalization of menopause. Social Science and Medicine, 24, 535–542.
Bertero, C. (2003). What do women think about menopause? A qualitative study of women’s expectations, apprehensions, and knowledge about the climacteric period. International Nursing Review, 50, 109–118.
Bordo, S. (1993). Unbearable weight: Feminism, Western culture, and the body. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Brumberg, J. J. (1997). The body project: An intimate history of American girls. New York: Random House.
Calasanti, T. (2004). New directions in feminist gerontology: An introduction. Journal of Aging Studies, 18, 1–8.
Callahan, J. (Ed.). (1993). Menopause: A midlife passage. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Connell, R. W. (1987). Gender and power. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Cremin, M. C. (1992). Feeling old versus being old: Views of troubled aging. Social Science and Medicine, 34, 1305–1315.
Cunningham, D. A. (2002). Application of Roy’s adaptation model when caring for a group of women coping with menopause. Journal of Community Health Nursing, 19, 49– 60.
Daly, J. (1997). Facing change: Women speaking about midlife. In P. Komesaroff, P. Rothfield, & J. Daly (Eds.), Reinterpreting menopause: Cultural and philosophical issues (pp. 159–175). New York: Routledge.
Derry, P. (2002). What do we mean by the “biology of menopause”? Sex Roles, 46, 13–23.
DeVault, M. (1995). Ethnicity and expertise: Racial-ethnic knowledge in sociological research. Gender and Society, 9, 612–631.
Dickson, G. (1990). A feminist poststructuralist analysis of the knowledge of menopause. Advanced Nursing Science, 12, 15–31.
Dillaway, H. E. (2002). Menopause in social context: Women’s experiences of reproductive aging in the United States. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Michigan State University.
Dillaway, H. E. (in press). “Menopause is the good old”: Women’s thoughts about reproductive aging. Gender and Society.
Dinnerstein, M., & Weitz, R. (1998). Jane Fonda, Barbara Bush, and other aging bodies: Femininity and the limits of resistance. In R. Weitz (Ed.), The politics of women’s bodies: Sexuality, appearance, and behavior (pp. 189–204). New York: Oxford University Press.
Dworkin, S., & Wachs, F. L. (2004). “Getting your body back”: Postindustrial fit motherhood in Shape Fit Pregnancy Magazine. Gender and Society, 18, 610–625.
Epstein, J. (1995). Altered conditions. New York: Routledge.
Fausto-Sterling, A. (1992). Myths of gender (rev. ed.). New York: Basic Books.
Ferguson, S., & Parry, C. (1998). Rewriting menopause: Challenging the medical paradigm to reflect menopausal women’s experiences. Frontiers, 19, 20–41.
Frey, K. A. (1981). Middle-aged women’s experience and perceptions of menopause. Women and Health, 6, 25–36.
Gannon, L. (1999). Women and aging: Transcending the myths. New York: Routledge.
Gannon, L., & Ekstrom, B. (1993). Attitudes toward menopause: The influence of sociocultural paradigms. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 17, 275–288.
Gannon, L., & Stevens, J. (1998). Portraits of menopause in the mass media. Women and Health, 27, 1–15.
Garber, M. (1992). Vested interests: Cross-dressing & cultural anxiety. New York: Routledge.
Greer, G. (1993). The change: Women, aging, and the menopause. New York: A. Knopf.
Grossman, M., & Bart, P. (1982). Taking the men out of menopause. In R. Hubbard, M. S. Henifin, & B. Fried (Eds.), Biological woman: The convenient myth (pp. 185–206). Cambridge, MA: Schenkman.
Gullette, M. M. (1997). Menopause as magic marker: Discursive consolidation in the United States, and strategies for cultural combat. In P. Komesaroff, P. Rothfield, & J. Daly (Eds.), Reinterpreting menopause: Cultural and philosophical issues (pp. 176–199). New York: Routledge.
Irigaray, L. (1985). Speculum of the other woman. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Kaufert, P., & Gilbert, P. (1986). Women, menopause, and medicalization. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, 10, 7–21.
Kaufert, P., & McKinlay, S. (1985). Estrogen-replacement therapy: The production of medical knowledge and the emergence of policy. In E. Lewin & V. Olesen (Eds.), Women, health and healing (pp. 113–138). New York: Tavistock.
Koeske, R. D. (1983). Lifting the curse of menstruation: Toward a feminist perspectives on the menstrual cycle. Women and Health, 8, 1–15.
Komesaroff, P., Rothfield, P., & Daly, J. (Eds.). (1997). Reinterpreting menopause: Cultural and philosophical issues. New York: Routledge.
Lee, J. (2003). Menarche and the (hetero)sexualization of the female body. In R. Weitz (Ed.), The politics of women’s bodies: Sexuality, appearance, and behavior (pp. 82–99). New York: Oxford University Press.
Lock, M. (1993). Encounters with aging: Mythologies of menopause in Japan and North America. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Lorber, J. (1998). Gender inequality: Feminist theories and politics (1st ed.). Los Angeles: Roxbury.
Lyons, A. C., & Griffin, C. (2003). Managing menopause: A qualitative analysis of self-help literature for women at midlife. Social Science and Medicine, 56, 1629–1642.
Lysack, C., & Seipke, H. (2002). Communicating the occupational self: A qualitative study of oldest-old American women. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 9, 130–139.
Markey, C., Markey, P., & Birch, L. (2004). Understanding women’s body satisfaction: The role of husbands. Sex Roles, 51, 209–216.
Markson, E. W. (2003). The female aging body through film. In C. Faircloth (Ed.), Aging bodies: Images and everyday experiences (pp. 77–102). Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
Martin, E. (1992). The woman in the body: A cultural analysis of reproduction (2nd ed.). Boston: Beacon Press.
McCrea, F. B. (1983). The politics of menopause: The “discovery” of a deficiency disease. Social Problems, 31, 111–123.
Melamed, E. (1983). Mirror, mirror: The terror of not being young. New York: Linden Press.
Morell, C. M. (1994). Unwomanly conduct: The challenges of intentional childlessness. New York: Routledge.
Murtagh, M. J., & Hepworth, J. (2003). Menopause as a long-term risk to health: Implications of general practitioner accounts of prevention for women’s choice and decision-making. Sociology of Health and Illness, 25, 185–207.
Oakley, A. (1998). Science, gender, and women’s liberation: An argument against postmodernism. Women’s Studies International Forum, 21, 133–146.
O’Grady, K. (2003). Challenges of change: Midlife, menopause and disability. A friend indeed: For women in the prime of life, 19(3).
Riessman, C. K. (1983). Women and medicalization: A new perspective. Social Policy, 14, 3–18.
Reissman, C. K. (1991). When gender is not enough. In J. Lorber & S. A. Farrell (Eds.), The social construction of gender (pp. 217–236). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Rogers, W. (1997). Sources of abjection in Western responses to menopause. In P. Komesaroff, P. Rothfield, & J. Daly (Eds.), Reinterpreting menopause: Cultural and philosophical issues (pp. 225–238). New York: Routledge.
Rubin, H., & Rubin, I. (1995). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data. London: Sage.
Spake, A. (2004, March 15). The hormone conundrum. U.S. News and World Report, pp. 60–63.
Stokes, R., & Frederick-Recascino, C. (2003). Women’s perceived body image: Relations with personal happiness. Journal of Women and Aging, 15, 17–29.
Voda, A. (1992). Menopause: A normal view. Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology, 35, 923–933.
Weber, L. (1998). A conceptual framework for understanding race, class, gender, and sexuality. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 22, 13–32.
Wilson, R. (1966). Feminine forever. New York: M. Evans (with Lippincott).
Winterich, J. (2003). Sex, menopause, and culture. Gender and Society, 17, 617–642.
Winterich, J., & Umberson, D. (1999). How women experience menopause: The importance of social context. Journal of Women and Aging, 11, 57–73.
Witt, D. (1994/1995). What (n)ever happened to Aunt Jemima: Eating disorders, fetal rights, and Black female appetite in contemporary American culture. Discourse, 17, 98– 122.
Wolf, N. (1991). The beauty myth: How images of beauty are used against women. New York: Morrow.
Worcester, N., & Whatley, M. (1992). The selling of HRT: Playing on the fear factor. Feminist Review, 41, 1–27.
Young, I. M. (1990). Justice and the politics of difference. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Young, I. M. (2003). Breasted experience: The look and feeling. In R. Weitz (Ed.), The politics of women’s bodies: Sexuality, appearance, and behavior (pp. 152–163). New York: Oxford University Press.
Zita, J. (1993). Heresy in the female body: The rhetorics of menopause. In J. Callahan (Ed.), Menopause: A midlife passage (pp. 59–78). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Zita, J. (1997). The premenstrual syndrome: ‘Dis-easing’ the female cycle. In N. Tuana (Ed.), Feminism and Science (pp. 188–210). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Zones, J. S. (2000). Beauty myths and realities and their impacts on women’s health. In M. B. Zinn, P. Hondagneu-Sotelo, & M. Messner (Eds.), Gender through the prism of difference (2nd ed., pp. 87–103). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dillaway, H.E. (Un)Changing Menopausal Bodies: How Women Think and Act in the Face of a Reproductive Transition and Gendered Beauty Ideals. Sex Roles 53, 1–17 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-005-4269-6
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-005-4269-6