It’s been a big, exciting, courageous week here at Vivid. Sixteen new Menopause Mentors are beginning their work to take Vivid Menopause Circles all over the world come this fall and winter! To say it’s thrilling is an understatement. We can’t wait to introduce these courageous women to you, and we will be, soon.
This work we are launching into the world takes courage. The status quo is to stay silent about menopause. The status quo is to conform to society’s ideas of what is appropriate for women our age. The status quo is to treat menopause and aging as an ailments, illnesses to be fixed by the pharmaceutical companies and the plastic surgeons and the cosmetics companies. We see it differently. We see menopause as a powerful rite of passage, an intense journey to be deeply experienced and vividly celebrated. We see midlife as a time of great opportunity and profound empowerment. And we are determined to change the conversation around menopause. The work of changing these conversations takes fierce courage. We are so proud of the sixteen new Menopause Mentors who are taking this work out into the world, holding Vivid Menopause Circles to support the women in their home communities. We know these women are also speaking up about the power of elderwomen. We are speaking up in our families, on social media, at work… we are speaking up and speaking out where ever we find ourselves.
If we want to change the cultural story around menopause, we all need to start speaking up and speaking out, sharing our reality and telling our stories, not just to each other, but to younger women and men too. It isn’t easy to start talking about such a sensitive, taboo topic. We know that. So we have rounded up some inspiration for you. These women are inspiring to us both in their refusal to accept the status quo and in the mix of ages represented. All of these women had to ignore the voice in their heads whispering, “Who do you think you are?” They braved stigma and broke rules, polite or otherwise. We want to be more like them!
Bessie Coleman
Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander
Hazel Lee
The Food Riot of 1917
Helen B. Taussig, MD
Dr. Clelia Mosher
Augusta Braxston Baker
Amalie (Emmy) Noether
Who’s your favorite fierce female? We’d love to know.
xo,
Annagrace
