MENOPAUSE MANIFESTATIONS

Part of the BLOODY BEAUTIFUL programme by affect lab.

This event took place on 30th October 2024 at Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam.

Gossip Session #5: Menopause Manifestations examined how cultural myths and stereotypes about menopause are sustained by the media. The evening unfolded in two acts. First, Emily Dickinson, head of research at Opinium Amsterdam, presented findings from our joint Bloody Beautiful menopause survey. This nationally representative questionnaire aimed to capture Dutch attitudes, feelings, and beliefs about menopause, with a particular focus on how media—TV, radio, print, and online platforms—shapes public perception. Full results appear later in this book.

The second act, curated and presented by affect lab’s Juliette Brederode, offered a sharp yet playful survey of menopause in mainstream media. Juliette opened with a 1972 clip from All in the Family, one of the first televised mentions of menopause. Like many clips that followed, it used humour as a Trojan horse. In The Golden Girls (1987), Blanche Devereaux declares “life is over” after discovering she’s menopausal, echoing tired narratives of post-50 irrelevance. The standout moment came from Fleabag (2019), featuring Kristin Scott Thomas’s now-iconic monologue: “It is horrendous, but then it’s magnificent”—a line that now circulates as digital gospel on Instagram.

Both the media excerpts and the survey data sparked pointed discussions. What emerged was a collective recognition: the stories we consume shape how we think, feel, and speak about menopausal bodies—and whose versions of ageing we value.

About BLOODY BEAUTIFUL

BLOODY BEAUTIFUL is a movement for lesser heard stories about menstruation and menopause. Our goal is to creatively propagate new public narratives about menstruation and menopause in a gender-forward way. 

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