Surprise, surprise! The menopause backlash is here

In a way, I guess, the only real surprise is that it didn’t happen sooner

Carol Kane as the menopause banshee in Netflix cartoon Big Mouth

It was only ever a matter of time. The menopause movement – for want of a better way of describing it – has been gaining momentum for at least a couple of years now, so it couldn’t be allowed to go unchecked for much longer.

Certain elements of the mainstream media had a half-hearted go back in the autumn of 2020 when there was one of those perfect storms of women in midlife all getting mouthy at the same time. My book The Shift was published and I started the podcast of the same name, Caitlin Moran’s More Than A Woman hit the charts, Gabby Logan started her podcast, The Mid.Point, and Karen Arthur launched @menopausewhilstblack on Instagram. Gaby Hinsliff picked up on it and wrote a piece in The Guardian celebrating this new outspokenness and the mood took hold.

Of course menopau…