Talking “Among Us”: How Women From Different Racial–Ethnic Groups Define and Discuss Menopause

Abstract

Against a backdrop of scant literature on commonalities and differences among diverse groups of menopausal women within the United States, and little attempt by scholars in any country to study the ways in which both privilege and oppression can shape women's ideas and experiences of menopause, in this study, 61 menopausal women of varied racial–ethnic and class locations in a Midwestern state were asked about the different meanings and experiences of menopause. African American women and Chicanas, particularly working-class women, viewed menopause as a positive experience, whereas many middle-class European American women discussed more negative feelings. Women of color were more likely than European Americans to report talking about menopause with same-race, same-sex friends only. While women of color discussed their knowledge of European American women's menopause, the latter lacked knowledge of other women's experiences. Women's lived experiences with privilege and oppression also surfaced in the interviews. The authors argue that when scholars listen to how women discuss menopause experiences, commonalities among women by gender, and differences among women by race, and class are exposed. The presence of racial–ethnic differences in these pilot data suggests the importance of more comparative studies on reproductive aging both in the United States and abroad.

The authors thank all women who agreed to be interviewed for this project and Rita Gallin, Maxine Baca Zinn, Peggy Stubbs, Phyllis Mansfield, and anonymous reviewers who provided helpful suggestions on earlier drafts of this article.