To be pissed off that Davina McCall and Sainsbury's think that 50% of "people" go through the Menopause

[ButterYourMuffin]

Standing in bloody long queue at Sainsburys this afternoon (as they only open 1 bloody till even when 6 people have trolleys full - I know that's another thread ...) so not in a great mood. Then over the speaker comes Davina with "Hi, I'm Davina and I want to talk about the Menopause." Ok, I think, being at that age, then "Did you know that 50% of PEOPLE go through the menopause?" WTF!!

How to make a menopausal WOMAN really angry.

AIBU to say that Sainsburys have lost my custom?

I heard the same thing at Sainsburys and it bothered me. I felt uncomfortable. I thought a bit about why I felt uncomfortable. Was I being narrow minded? Should we be talking about menopause publicly? If not, why not?

Ultimately what made me uncomfortable was that the announcement doesn’t talk about the issue accurately. 50% of people go through menopause… So, let’s assume that’s women. Hmm so we have a population of 70 million. Does that mean 35 million are going through menopause? Of course it doesn’t.

What is so bad about saying, x% of women going through menopause experience symptoms which affect their ability to get on with their life. If this is you, there is help available. Speak to x person.

Doesn't matter what they identify as @RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie You can't change your sex. If you're female you will have to deal with women's issues, such as menopause.

Menopause is a woman thing.

What about when it affects everyone in your household? Your work? Your friendships and hobbies?

I'm pretty sure it's about bringing awareness to it to EVERYONE, hence saying 50% of people so that men can understand this happens to all women and can educate themselves on this too

Men are capable of learning that 50% of the population go through something that can often be quite difficult.
And still won't give a shit.

Thanks! Just tried to send you a DM, but looks like it didn't work. Anyway, it was sending good wishes to you and yours!

Well as I say, you might want your nearest and dearest to have a clue about what you're going through. But I don't want random men at work, students or whatever, speculating about my health or my menopause status. It's nothing to do with them. I'd rather keep it private, like I always kept my periods private. I really don't think it needs to involve male people unless I'm sharing a house with them or they are my GP.

And YOU might not want to involve the men in your life with you 'woman's problems' but that doesn't mean that men shouldn't know about them. Obviously in your microcosm of life, you get to do what works for you, but how can say it's a bad thing that men are kept in the dark about a biological function of 50% of the population?

I'm not saying that it should be some kind of dark secret. I'm just saying that it doesn't need to be a public discussion focused on educating men. In the same way that I don't think campaigns about prostate health should be focused on educating women.

I heard it yesterday whilst in the loo at Sainsburys, I dislike her anyway so it's just reinforced my thoughts about her.

We're living on a floating rock with the only planet with credible life form, and this is what people choose to be angry at? Lmao

@beastlyslumber you know people will speculate anyway right? Young Men will still call older women 'Karen' and older men will continue to dismiss you as being past it. If women collide in this then how on earth are men ever going to surpass these sexist and archaic attitudes?

How are men kept in the dark? Still haven’t explained how using the word people suddenly makes them all ears.

I'm happy to understand a bit more about prostate problems. Why would I not want to understand something that could potentially kill my dp?

I think whoever it was who mentioned monetisation hit the nail on the head earlier. So much of all this is little to do with educating men and everything to do with Davina selling another bloody book, or Sainsbury's selling more vitamins which are more expensive because they've got 'menopausal floral' labelling.

Having said that, educate the hell out of them imo. And yes, women should be educated about health issues which affect men too. Most of us will be sisters, mothers, lovers etc of men. And most men will be brothers, sons, lovers etc of females. Surely it's in everyone's interests to hear more about the issues which might impact on those we love?

Well fingers crossed I’m not one of the 50%
Is there anything I can do to reduce my chances?

All I'm saying is - focus menopause talk on women. Focus prostate talk on men. If you want to learn all about the prostate and prostate health then go for it. No one's stopping you! You shouldn't need a campaign focused on you to encourage you to do that if it matters to you. Likewise, if a man wants to learn all about menopause, then great. He should go for it. Just don't target men with information about menopause as if it's important that they know all about it - or more like, it's only important if men care about it.

I would think it's blindingly obvious that women are roughly 50% of the population. While some people may be ignorant of the details, we all know women experience menopause. So, I can't imagine what her point was or why she felt compelled to share it.

it's only important if men care about it.

But how do they know it's something they might want to care about if they're never told about it?

I disagree.

I think it's really important that men, as well as women know about the effects of the menopause.

They don't go through the menopause, but men live with women who do. Work with them. As a result of menopause no longer being a dirty word, and far more things being talked about much more and more understanding is there.

My partner might not be physically going through the menopause but he has went through the mood swings and lives with my anxiety. But he at least knows more about the reasons.

100% @RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie

I really want some of the young men at work (who think they know everything and can do everything and that women who are not sexually desirable to them are basically neurotic old hags to be ignored) to learn about the menopause. Perhaps I should teach them by going full on banshee occasionally.

@tigger1001 Yes, yes, yes to all of that.

50% eh? Wonder if my mum or dad went though it.

Imagine being a young girl looking at that and maybe thinking you've got a 50/5 chance of not going through the menopause.