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A bloody history of menopause

  • Serial
Digital collage artwork made up of pink, red and black and white hues. At the centre is a large image of the moon. Overlaid on top are two sheets of red fabric billowing and flowing as if in the wind. One flows to the left and the other to the right. In between them is a staircase rising up. At the top is the back of a woman who has just reach the top. In front of her are fragments of two large female torsos which are transparent and through which the moon behind can be seen. At the base of the staircase are a collection of objects, a poppy seed head, a syringe, a leech, grasses and 2 bottles with XXX printed on the label.
Blood. © Asma Istwani for Wellcome Collection.

For a long time, nobody talked about menopause, and there is little evidence in the historical record of how women would have experienced this life stage in the past, if they even lived long enough to experience it. Using audio extracts from interviews with contemporary women as a starting point, Helen Foster explores the uncomfortable and sometimes violent history of menopause. By examining the historical record through these six themes, she uncovers the myths, taboos and concerns that still resonate with people's experiences of menopause today.

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Blood

Discover the history, mythology and taboos around blood and menopause, and hear from some contemporary voices about their experiences of periods and the onset of menopause.

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Hysteria

Mental health and emotional symptoms are common during menopause, but a long history of dismissing sufferers as 'hysterical women', at the mercy of their emotions has made it much harder to discuss these issues and to get support.

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Heating up and drying out

Menopause doesn’t have to signify old age, but when your body feels like it’s letting you down, it’s hard not to believe that your useful life may be over.

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Invisibility

Why do menopausal women feel invisible? Because nobody talks about menopause or because society doesn't value older women?

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Witches

Many of the women persecuted as witches in the 16th-century “witch craze” were over 50 and exhibited signs of menopause. Helen Foster suggests that the stigma of the wicked witch still affects older women and how they deal with menopause.

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Crones

Menopause can be tough when nobody talks about it and all the stereotypes are negative, but it can also be transformative, marking the start of a new stage of life - cronehood.

About the contributors

Helen Foster

Author

Dr Helen Foster is a writer and oral historian currently based at the East Midlands Oral History Archive at the University of Leicester. She has a particular interest in narratives around life stages and, as well as menopause, her work has explored childlessness and bereavement. As a poetry-therapy practitioner she facilitates workshops for people living with mental health challenges, using writing as a therapeutic tool. She is currently co-authoring a book on creative writing and health for Emerald Press.

University of Leicester logo. Red ink on a white background

East Midlands Oral History Archive

Contributor

The audio extracts used in the series ‘A Bloody History of Menopause’ come from interviews, conversations and audio diaries about lived experiences of menopause recorded for the Silent Archive project. The project was led by the East Midlands Oral History Archive at the University of Leicester (from 2020–22) and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. 

Black and white head and shoulders photographic portrait of Asma Istwani.

Asma Istwani

Artist

Asma is an artist and arts producer from London. She has worked with several organisations and brands, including Tate, Somerset House and Jo Malone London on a variety of creative projects. Through her collages she aims to make relatable statements about the experience and racial and sexual depiction of ‘othered’ women, with special interest in those who, like herself, make up the SWANA (South West Asian/ North African) diaspora. Asma is also the founder of RIOT SOUP, an art collective and community for Black and Brown women artists in London.