Reinterpreting Menopause: Cultural and Philosophical Issues

In recent years there has been extensive analysis of the health effects of menopause and the safety and efficacy of the various "treatments" and rising concern about the appropriation and pathologization of menopause by medicine and its effects on women. However, there has been relatively little reflection on the social, cultural, philosophical and ethical issues raised by both menopause itself and the way it has been handled by medicine.Reinterpreting Menopausebrings together a number of reflections from a broad range of areas including feminism, cultural studies, clinical medicine, sociology, philosophy and political science and includes the voices and experiences of menopausal women themselves. In an innovative series of essays, current thinking about medicine, society and the body is critically examined. Particular attention is given to the medical representations of menopause, biology and aging, the history of medical approaches to women and the tensions between bio-medicalmodels and other explanations of menopause. The issues of hormonal therapies is explored in the context of the connections between women, medicine, representation and cultural politics. Contributors include:E. Ann Kaplan, Emily Martin, Mia Campioni, Fiona Mackie, Roe Sybylla, Wendy Rogers, Kwok Lei Leng, Margaret Morganroth Gullette and Robyn Gardner.