Is the new menopause-awareness movement “catastrophising” and “monetising” menopause to the potential detriment of working women? That is what Professor Susan Davis and Dr Sarah White warn against in their submissions to the Senate inquiry into issues relating to menopause and perimenopause. But if I hadn’t listened to and learnt from these vagillant voices I wouldn’t be in the tremendous health and joy-filled acting work I presently find myself revelling in. The Davis/White stance seems to me to oppose the very aim of the inquiry which – like my own – is to know how it affects women’s work outcomes and economic status and to increase understanding, see improved access to good treatments and boost supports at work.
Kerry Fox at the Logies on Sunday. ‘In 2017, I was barely aware of what menopause was.’ Credit: Getty Davis quotes a 2017 piece of research by Martha Hickey, who says women health workers “didn’t want to be singled out as a problem group”.
This quote makes my skin crawl, not only because health workers are traditionally so put-upon that it makes sense they’d not want to “cause trouble”, but also because in 2017 I was just at the beginning of my efforts to seek treatment and support – through the National Health Service in the UK where I live – for the confusing physiological and psychological shifts that were starting to overtake my body. In 2017, I was not aware of any “loud voices” in the menopause awareness space. Nor di.