Menopause: a contextualized experience across social structures
Date
2017
Authors
Yisma, E.
Ly, S.
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Choudhury, S.
Erausquin, J.
Withers, M.
Erausquin, J.
Withers, M.
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Book chapter
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Source details - Title: Global Perspectives on Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Across the Lifecourse, 2017 / Choudhury, S., Erausquin, J., Withers, M. (ed./s), Ch.22, pp.391-409
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Abstract
Menopause is a phenomenon experienced by women as they approach middle age, marking the end of menstruation and reproduction. Throughout history, menopause has been classified in negative terms as a malady and decay of femininity necessitating a cure, which led to the controversial development of hormone replacement therapy. Feminists and activists challenged existing stereotypes and emphasized menopause as a natural transition. There is still little consensus on universal menopause symptoms since wide variations are reported across geographic regions and cultures. These differences can be better examined via individual menopausal experiences, which are unique and shaped by attitudes and expectations. Macro-level structures often place psychosocial constraints on individual women imposing roles after menopause or creating expectations of common symptoms. This chapter applies three theoretical frameworks to the menopausal experience. The biomedical model portrays menopause as a result of biological pathways with clear diagnoses of menopausal stages and is widely used by physicians. The life course perspective views menopause as a lifelong process that is shaped by the current time period with early life advantages or disadvantages that affect women as they enter their menopausal years. The biopsychosocial model integrates women's experiences of menopause into a hierarchy of structures. Each woman is shaped by microlevel factors like genetics and body functions while also influenced by macro-level structures within her family or society. As the number of women experiencing menopause rises with emerging demographic shifts, special consideration to individual and global experiences of menopause should be integrated to advance well-being.
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Copyright 2018 Springer