The Post Menopausal Zest

There is so much negativity around menopause, but so little about the new freedom we are blessed with at the end of a challenging time made by sleepless nights, hot flushes and brain fogs. A phase of our life when we are not concerned with birth control, PMS, painful cramps or other monthly inconveniences.

It was the American anthropologist Margaret Mead who coined – in the 1950s – the phrase ‘post-menopausal zest’ and her popular quote “There is no greater power in the world than the zest of a postmenopausal woman” couldn’t be more timely. She was so ahead of her time that she realised – before many others – that midlife is a stage of life when we are still young enough to live life to its fullest with a better set of rules, increased energy, creativity and libido. Need some examples? Just think of all the women in positions of power around the world, from Hillary Clinton and Angela Merkel to Christine Lagarde; they all seem to enjoy their zesty moment. 

We are not dismissing what you are experiencing, we simply encourage you to be focused on the upsides of menopause. Keep in mind that as a woman’s oestrogen level drops, her testosterone levels increase. This means that you might suddenly start feeling a little bit more selfish and fearless as well as confident enough to be standing ‘on your own two stilettos’, again. Not convinced, yet? If there is a contemporary author and humorist who can address this topic in such a positive – yet hilarious – way, that is Kathy Lette. 

On the world stage all the really impressive women are post-menopause – she writes. The liberation of no longer menstruating, of no longer caring so much what people think of you because your testosterone has come up a bit, I’m finding that absolutely empowering. The menopause used to be a shameful secret. Having the menopause seemed the equivalent of catching dengue fever or diphtheria. But my girlfriends and I are always laughingly comparing flushes whilst fanning each other. To us, the menopause is liberating. Not only does it free a woman from the anxieties of fertility but it gives us a licence to behave selfishly for once. I feel I’m on the brink of the most exciting phase of my life, once I get over these damn heat waves. For anyone else going through the menopause, let me just say that I’m thinking of you and have a bucket of ice at the ready”.

Don’t miss her latest novel ‘HRT: Husband Replacement Therapy‘, a book about women ageing disgracefully, having fun, being frivolous and putting themselves first for a change. It might not ease all your menopause symptoms, but we bet it will help you to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

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