How women experience menopause and the impact of culture

This is not a question or request for advice but, as a result of some other discussions on here I recently became interested in how culture and society effects women's experience of menopause. I thought I'd post my findings in case anyone else is interested.

Research that shows that, despite the symptoms women experience being more or less the same wherever they are in the world, those living in cultures that revere and promote youth (e.g. the US and UK) report experiencing worse symptoms. Conversely, in other cultures menopause is celebrated e.g. Hazda women in Tanzania celebrate the onset of menopause, and menopausal women are among the most valued members of their society (like it!)

From the 'woman in balance institute':

The most important factor determining a woman’s experience of menopause is the culture in which she finds herself before, during, and after menopause:

In our youth-idolizing Western culture, menopause can seem like an ending. However, in many cultures, menopause is a time of new respect and freedom for women. A study reported that Mayan women, although experiencing some uncomfortable symptoms, looked forward to menopause, as it provided newfound freedom and status (Stefanopoulou). Marcha Flint found that in Rajasthan, India, women who were veiled and secluded before menopause, could now “come downstairs from their women’s quarters to where the men talked and drank home brew” and could publicly visit and joke with men after menopause (Flint 1975).

Do American women report more symptoms of menopause because of the impact of our Western lifestyle choices and stress levels on hormones? Or is it that we live in a culture where menopause is sometimes treated as a “disease", rather than the transformative and elevating experience it is in other cultures?"

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