51: The Cost of Making Menopause a "Medical" Issue

Midlife Rising · Sep 4, 2026 · 31m

We need to talk about something that's been irking us: menopause got turned into a diagnosis, and it's quietly keeping women out of leadership. Somehow menopause has become a medical problem to be fixed rather than a natural transition to be honored. It's the same thing that happens with puberty and childbirth - anytime a woman's body changes, we treat the discomfort as a disease instead of a signal.

That belief shows up everywhere, not just in the doctor's office. Workplaces (and schools) were built around a male body and a male cycle - steady, linear, on five days a week. They were never…