Another interesting post by Liz Scherer on her “Flashfree: not your mama’s menopause” blog – this time about:
” a review in the Journal of Aging Studies discussing how the social construct of menopause has shifted to “an increasingly more medicalized perspective that emphasizes the biological deficits of the aging female body.”
Scherer says the review:
“…points to the ‘Menopause Industry:’ a “profit-seeking enterprise comprising pharmaceutical companies and perpetuated by the media intent on “turning 40 million baby boomer women into patients for life by defining menopause as an estrogen deficiency disease requiring significant medical intervention.” While the companies create the drugs, the media (whose increased attention attention to menopause, largely fueled by the wave of 1970s feminism and in part, funded by corporate interests) not only provide women with access to the information and resources that they seek but also contribute to perceptions of personal control among women who do not want to “sit back and let menopause just happen to them.” The result is that the Menopause Industry has not only developed products that these women crave that allows them to win their battle against old-age, but, continues to highlight the need for them.”
Comments
Please note, comments are no longer published through this website. All previously made comments are still archived and available for viewing through select posts.
Shannon
August 30, 2011 at 8:38 pmJust wanted to pop in and give kudos for the phrase “The Menopause Industrial Complex!” Wish I’d have thought that one up because it certainly sums up the truth. Excellent
Our Comments Policy
But before leaving a comment, please review these notes about our policy.
You are responsible for any comments you leave on this site.
This site is primarily a forum for discussion about the quality (or lack thereof) in journalism or other media messages (advertising, marketing, public relations, medical journals, etc.) It is not intended to be a forum for definitive discussions about medicine or science.
We will delete comments that include personal attacks, unfounded allegations, unverified claims, product pitches, profanity or any from anyone who does not list a full name and a functioning email address. We will also end any thread of repetitive comments. We don”t give medical advice so we won”t respond to questions asking for it.
We don”t have sufficient staffing to contact each commenter who left such a message. If you have a question about why your comment was edited or removed, you can email us at feedback@healthnewsreview.org.
There has been a recent burst of attention to troubles with many comments left on science and science news/communication websites. Read “Online science comments: trolls, trash and treasure.”
The authors of the Retraction Watch comments policy urge commenters:
We”re also concerned about anonymous comments. We ask that all commenters leave their full name and provide an actual email address in case we feel we need to contact them. We may delete any comment left by someone who does not leave their name and a legitimate email address.
And, as noted, product pitches of any sort – pushing treatments, tests, products, procedures, physicians, medical centers, books, websites – are likely to be deleted. We don”t accept advertising on this site and are not going to give it away free.
The ability to leave comments expires after a certain period of time. So you may find that you’re unable to leave a comment on an article that is more than a few months old.
You might also like