September is National Menopause Awareness Month! How do you “rock” your menopause? Graphic created by Rock My Menopause.
My trek through the menopause wilderness continues! And yes, this week, it feels like dense and rugged terrain. Trying to make sense of it all, I’ve started to track some of my more interesting finds by making “curated” boards on Pinterest. Yes, Pinterest…which, judgy eye roll aside, is actually proving to be an efficient way to tag and save info that’s useful (or distinct) in its take on menopause-related issues. It was through my Pinterest project, that I discovered that Menopause Awareness Month is a thing, and apparently it’s this month…(and is NOT to be confused with World Menopause Month, which is next month). With all of this global awareness building and recognition going on (although limited to a season, it seems) you’d think we’d be further along with this meno crusade, but alas, it continues! Which brings us to this week’s Featured Find post!!! For those of you who are new the blog (i.e., you haven’t read the previous three blogs…yet), you’ll know the “Featured Find” is my unsolicited take on
all things I find helpful, relevant and interesting as they relate to the modern menopause experience. And I do mean all things…
Since it’s Menopause Awareness Month, I thought it most appropriate to start with an advocacy-related find and do my part to help drive awareness. Hence, this week’s first Featured Find is “Rock My Menopause,” a movement-building campaign that wants to end the taboo around menopause and make people “menopause aware.” HEAR! HEAR! The web-based campaign is sponsored by the Primary Care Women’s Health Forum (based in, you guessed it! the UK), and features a vibrant and energetic website calling all menopausal women, their loved ones, supporters and allies to educate themselves and others about menopause and bring it into “the mainstream.” The site also presents a thoughtfully inclusive use of visually diverse women – from age, to ethnicity, to faith – which, as we know, accurately reflects the spectrum of experiences.
Another helpful thing about the site, is that it includes the core components of any solid campaign, with a clear call “to break the taboo of menopause,” and easy, actionable steps to take, like educate yourself and talk to your doctor. To help with this, you can download their “menofesto” and share your story, or join the closed Facebook community to be a part of the ongoing conversation. You can also sign the pledge to be a #MENOVIST and do your part to demystify and de-stigmatize “the menopause.” Perhaps the best part is that you can do all this advocacy from the comfort of, well, anywhere. If armchair advocacy isn’t your thing, but you want to track the movement, you can follow along on their Instagram account, which like the campaign site, is both informative and visually engaging.
Another Featured Find, Menopause Health Matters, is also a useful resource worth mentioning this month, especially if you’re a purist or more understated in you advocacy. Unlike “Rock My Menopause,” Menopause Health Matters (MHM) does not rely on form, and is pretty straightforward in function. MHM is “an independent, clinician backed women’s health and wellness website,” that wants to empower women to be their own “health advocate.” While visually underwhelming (albeit clean and professional), the MHM site is all about educating you on the many stages and aspects of menopause. It’s thorough in the range of information presented and easy to navigate, given its simplicity. If you don’t want to be distracted by bold images and calls to action in social media speak, then this may be a better resource for you. Because they aren’t a visual platform, you won’t find MHM on Instagram, but you can engage with them on Facebook and Twitter.
Even though we’re halfway through it, there’s still time to jump in and help spread awareness by lending your voice (actual or digital) to the menopause movement. And not to worry, if you’ve got a lot going on this month, and would do something IF you had the time, there’s always World Menopause Month.
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