Transnational Engagements: Women’s Experiences of Menopause

Abstract

In this chapter, Perianes and Kissling examine informal interviews about menopause experiences and discourse conducted among participants in four nations: British-Iranian Shardi Nahavandi interviewed her Persian mother; Swetha Sridhar interviewed her mother and grandmother, all currently from different regions of India; Ursula Maschette Santos spoke with three women from her community in São Paulo, Brazil; and Jennifer Poole conducted a focus group discussion with 17 participants of the NGO Medical Services Pacific in Fiji, which included six men. Noting that each nation and community has its own norms and traditions, the authors find common themes of ambivalence around aging, community silence about menopause, and insufficient education or preparation for the menopause transition.