Hi, , I recently moved across the country, and while it's been lovely being somewhere with water and trees, it's also been a bit of a challenge. Living out of boxes is for college students, not women in their 50s! Case in point: This morning, I got my period. Totally not prepared for that! Thank goodness I still own period underwear, or I would have been back to wadding tp into my undies while I ran to the store down the street! I’m slowly coming to embrace the unpredictability of my body, and I’m getting more and more comfortable talking about every aspect of my life, not just the ones that are “socially acceptable”. And it seems that other women are, too. There are so many celebrities starting to open up on social media about their experiences, and I am thrilled to see women in the public eye take on this topic. Visibility matters, and while there are regular women like me trying to make a difference, I know that realistically, it's going to take women with star power to get this conversation into the mainstream. When menopause becomes a water cooler conversation, that’s when I’ll know we’re on our way to getting the proper health, work, relationship, and life tools we need! Once the conversation becomes more mainstream, maybe we can do in the US what women in the UK are doing: demanding that their government, education system, medical system, and the business community support women in menopause, rather than dismissing them. There is a proud history of women standing up for their needs, from the right to vote, to the right to equal treatment, to the right to breastfeed. I see the right to have a healthy and supported menopause transition as no less fundamental a right. Menopause has been ignored for centuries, and we’ve been expected to “deal with" it privately, ashamed, confused, and watching our bodies, our careers, our relationships, and our mental health suffer. I say no more! And if I have to tell the world about my surprise periods, or the hair on my chin and nipples (seriously! Where did THAT come from?!?) then so be it! I hope you’ll join me! ~Vanessa |