Explore how menopause is viewed from a different cultural perspective. Write about this and be sure to cite your source/s.
Menopause is the end of menstrual cycle and childbearing capability. Menopause in a natural event in all women’s lives, it is the last menstrual cycle. Right before and during menopause women experience physical changes due to drop in hormone production. Menopause depicts end of woman’s reproductive life usually occurring between ages 45 and 55. Menopause is accompanied by various symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats and various psychic symptoms, of which hot flashes is known to occur in about 75% of the women and may continue for as long as 40 years. Image shows list of the symptoms women reports during menopause. (http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.jos-health-network.150m.com/menopause1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.jos-health-network.150m.com/menopause.html&usg=__xftJ__n5SutLg1PgwvItJYZ-KV4=&h=544&w=500&sz=128&hl=en&start=1&zoom=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=GREXXR0zChQYaM:&tbnh=133&tbnw=122&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmenopause%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26tbs%3Disch:1)
Menopause also differs in different areas of the world. Hot flashes in the West, shoulder pain in Japan and loss of vision in India, are the hallmarks of menopause. Even the median age of menopause differs from country to country. The median age at menopause reported from the West (50.3 years) is higher as compared to the range of 45–47 years in developing countries.
In some societies youthfulness is valued and menopause is viewed as negative stage in a women lives. It is considered a difficult time in a women life because during menopause women experience uncontrollable moodiness, irritability and depression whereas, some women appreciate the freedom from menstrual periods. Western women are tired of the chorus of U’s associated with menopause: unattractive, useless, ugly, undesirable, unhappy and so on. I wanted to share the following image with everyone to show you how some people view menopause in our society. (http://ihatemenopause.com/)
In Asian countries women gain respect when they enters into their middle age. They are thought to be wiser and more experienced. In countries such as New Zealand and India menopausal women are community leaders and hold a place of honor in their communities. It is a belief held by many cultures, that life after menopause is a time of strength, courage and wisdom.
In my opinion a women should not be afraid of getting old, and menopause should be a sign of wisdom and maturity. Women should enjoy every stage of their life so we can live up to our full potential.
Reference:
Alexander, L.L., LaRosa, J.H., Badar, H., Garfield Boston
Hunt, G. Menopause Across Cultures. RagMag. Retrieved October 18, 2010, from http://ragmag.net/2009/05/menopause-across-cultures
Women are so incredibly powerful and to me, there is nothing we cant overcome. One of my professors once said to me..." Have you ever seen a man bleed form his you know where and live to tell the story? NO. And we do it every month. Does that tell you how strong we are?" Haha. I think as we get older we do get wiser and although the natural process takes place where our bodies start to slow down, we must keep in mind that it is only natural. All women go through it and if we want to change the stigma, we can. I hope we can get to a place where we view this stage in our lives as a time to be comforted and accepted.
ReplyDeleteSara Abbasi