Conventional approaches to menopause tend to contrast the biomedical position on menopause with women’s actual experiences of it. Rather than focusing primarily on the tensions between these perspectives (biomedical vs. lay), our emphasis here is on the impact of biomedicine in shaping participants’ perceptions of their status as menopausal. Based on interview data gathered from 39 women in Ireland, we argue that the cultural authority of biomedicine shaped participants’ experiences of the body and how they constituted their health identity. We assert that, ironically, this was particularly the case among those who most strongly contested biomedical definitions of their situation. In addition, biomedical practitioners’ definitions had a strong normalizing power in how the body was experienced. We conclude by noting that our analysis problematizes the notion of privileging “women’s experiences” as advocated by some feminist perspectives. The heavy influence of biomedical discourses in shaping participants’ embodied experiences demonstrates the pervasive impact of prevailing discourses on women’s experiences.

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HT AND THE MEDICAL ENCOUNTER: A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF WOMEN'S EXPERIENCES AbstractObjective: The aim of this article is to explore women's experiences in biomedical consultations for menopause symptoms, with a particular focus on how Hormone Therapy (HT) featured during the encounter. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 39 women and data were analysed using a qualitative strategy referred to as Thematic Networks. Results: Several participants whose menopause started before the period of the HT 'scares' described being 'put on' HT as a matter of course, even where their symptoms were mild. By contrast, some of those presenting in the more recent time period with what they deemed to be severe symptoms were more likely to describe scenarios whereby they pressured their doctors for a HT prescription. Once on HT, participants were found to be far from passive recipients of a biomedical 2 'treatment' but rather embarked on an active dialogue with themselves about how to manage distressing aspects of the menopause. Conclusion: that using HT did not tend to spell a transition to biomedical advocacy, in spite of its reported effectiveness in moderating bodily distresses. Rather, HT tended to retain a tentative status as temporary relief, and not a long-term panacea.

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This article analyses what a sample of women experiencing menopause say they would like in terms of a quality menopause health service. Thirty-nine women who defined themselves as currently or recently menopausal were interviewed in depth, and data were analysed using a qualitative strategy known as thematic networks analysis. In terms of the structure of a menopause service, the dominant picture emerging was that women wanted an integrative menopause service where General Practitioners would act as a gateway to both biomedical treatments and complementary and alternative medicine. In addition, participants recommended that practitioners be knowledgeable about the wider (psychosocial) issues associated with menopause, and well versed in a range of therapies. In terms of process issues, participants wanted a service where their experiences were listened to and taken seriously. Given the tension between biomedicine and complementary and alternative medicine over the status of knowledge and diverse approaches to what counts as evidence about whether or not a therapy works, at least some aspects of what participants want from a menopause service may be very difficult to realise.

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