Did you know that, while rare, menopause can start at the age of thirty-six? There always seems to have been a shroud of mystery around this normal phase of a womxn’s life. And, god forbid, you talk about it amongst your friends or in public. I remember an interview from years ago where Rosie O’Donnell said she was so angry because she knew nothing about menopause and that no one told her anything about it or warned her.
Considering I’m forty now and getting closer to experiencing symptoms of menopause, I’d like to share some reputable resources that I’ve found helpful. Plus, I know many of you are around my age. So, why not share the information I’ve found to prevent you from feeling like you’re going crazy when you begin to notice changes in your body.
The best resource I’ve found is Dr. Jen Gunter. She is a Canadian OB/GYN who’s been referred to as “The Internet’s OB/GYN.” I’ve found her work extremely helpful in learning about menopause and other information about womxn’s bodies.
Regarding menopause, specifically, her book, The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism, is full of knowledge about this process and addresses many questions that womxn have about this time in their lives.
Dr. Gunter has also published The Vagina Bible: The Vulva and the Vagina: Separating the Myth from the Medicine and, most recently, Blood: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation. She also has a Substack newsletter, The Vajenda, and a podcast, Body Stuff with Jen Gunter, found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
On socials (@DrJenGunter on all platforms), Dr. Gunter shares medically sound information based on science. She dispels myths about womxn’s bodies and how they work. She also fights against misinformation and blatant lies about abortion, which has become especially important considering the rollbacks in womxn’s healthcare across the country.
My goal in sharing these resources is to empower you with knowledge about bodies with uteruses, which may include yours. I don’t know about you, but any information I received about my body in the past was minimal and given through the lens of its purpose for men. Now, I’ve had the opportunity to learn about my body through a fact-based and feminist lens.
I don’t want you to get to menopause and feel like Rosie, especially when I have some information that may help. I hope you find these resources helpful, and I encourage you to share them with your communities.