People may ask and do ask why I go on about #myblackmenopause. I do so because it’s real and some people want to underplay it. Well, they ask, is menopause not a biological thing? Yes, it is, but it’s also very much sociological. I write and talk about “my black menopause” because that is how I have experienced menopause. The response to menopause is not uniform; so many factors influence it.
I am a middle-aged, black, African woman. These three factors, woman, black and African, have influenced and defined me my whole life. In everything, ie, my culture, upbringing, my cultural gender roles, and thought processes, – these three, woman, black and African, have been major players in who I became as a person. In addition, they influenced my family life, my relationships and career development, and my choices in life. So, when menopause came, my response and understanding of it was understandably influenced again by these three factors.
Menopause, whilst being every woman’s issue, and acknowledging that every woman, should they live long enough, will go through it, is different for every woman. Not only that but it is experienced differently depending on geographic location. It is interesting that women in America suffer more from different symptoms than in Japan. In India, women report having heavy bleeding in the perimenopause stage and joint aches and fatigue. A survey carried out in Nigeria found that women experience more joint pains and interestingly reached menopause at 48 years. The age for women in the western world to have reached menopause is 51/52. I take this to have come from research on white women. The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN) research discovered that black women reach menopause at 49, two years earlier than their white counterparts; not only that, but black women spend more time transitioning into menopause than white women. White experience 6,5 years of hot flashes while black women have ten years. Women from different ethnicities will have different menopausal and perimenopausal symptoms and experiences. The Japanese are the luckiest, I think, with very little discomfort from menopausal symptoms. This could be attributed to their lifestyle and diet.
Our experiences of menopause are influenced by where we live, how we live, our culture, beliefs, our diet, and so many other economic and social aspects. My black menopause encompasses my culture and beliefs. My traditions. My race. My economic environment. My exposure to knowledge and health facilities. My religion. My mindset and the ability to shift that. My limiting beliefs. These factors are important to how I understand menopause. My culture is such that we did not talk about menopause; I am not yet sure if there was a taboo or if this was a topic simply not openly discussed. This culture of silence put me at a disadvantage when menopause came, finding me unprepared; I had very little knowledge of what it was, what to expect and how to best manage the symptoms. I came across many women in the same boat as myself, with little knowledge and not willing to talk. There were many myths, whispers and old wives’ tales to wade through.
Whilst the menopausal belly has a biological explanation, in my culture, it was attributed to a collection of sperms with nowhere to go because the menstrual blood was no longer washing them out every month. This made women stop having intercourse for fear of having this belly which they believed could lead to cancer. Research carried out in South Africa and Zimbabwe established that most women experience mood changes, sleep disturbance, decreased libido, hot flushes and night sweats. Weight gain was also a concern (Nelson 2008).
I was raised in such an environment, surrounded by these myths and beliefs, so it goes without saying that these beliefs would colour my attitude towards menopause. What we associate menopause with is what we believe it to be. The subject has been shrouded in so much secrecy and shame partly because of the loss experienced, loss of fertility and intimacy with husbands. Fear of becoming invisible, no longer useful. The loss of intimacy raises fears and anxieties that husbands would go out looking for younger women to meet their physical needs or to take as second wives. A lack of knowledge has not helped; having no education about menopause has perpetuated the secrecy, so the myths and whispers continue to run unstopped. “My black menopause” community put menopause down to aging, or God or something that happens and sometimes, put it down to witchcraft. We are a peculiar people, with our peculiar ways, our foods and lifestyle – we process things differently; and we do things differently. And if we choose to manage menopause differently, that's ok too.
I have, of course, moved on from some of these beliefs, but they did define me. My religion also plays a big part – As a Christian, I ask what God’s part in all this discomfort is. How should I, as a child of God, respond? This is my reality, and I’m sure, a reality to many other women. Moving to a first-world country brought me exposure, but I find that I have acquired yet another label to add to my list (woman, black, African. Christian and now an immigrant). I am different; I’m an immigrant, and my reality is that Doctors have not taken us seriously for a long time. We often dread presenting our issues to the GP – we have been privy to their dismissiveness. Can we trust that they will have our health and well-being at heart when they tell us the different treatment options available?
So yes, menopause happens to all women regardless of colour, race, ethnicity, economic status and education -but how we respond and experience it is different. And this is my reality #myblackmenopause.
Comentarios