The "Medical Condition" that Women Endure
On my way to work today I was listening to my usual talk radio show and a male caller called in asking about menopause. He basically wanted to learn more about it because his wife was going through it and he knew nothing about it except that it was a “medical condition”. This comment bothered me, not so much because I am a women and defensive about the topic, but because it mirrored the opinion of pharmaceutical companies, that for years made a fortune on hormone therapy drugs convincing people of just that…….that menopause was a condition that must be treated.
Recent articles in the New York Times and Huffington Post paint the picture of how Wyeth lured women into taking their hormone drugs, not only to retain their femininity, but to prevent heart disease, Alzheimer’s and dementia. Feel like a woman while warding off evil ailments, what woman would say no to that? They turned menopause into a disease that had to be treated. Women who every month would curse the day their menstrual cycle began were now dreading the day that it would end.
I must say Wyeth did a good job creating and spreading their image of menopause. Hopefully, the negative image will be replaced with what menopause really is…….a natural biological process, nothing more, nothing less. Until then, I guess I will just wait for my impending “medical condition” to kick in.
