Science women

A woman replaced ‘menopause’ with ‘erectile disfunction’ in this journal to highlight attitudes towards women and it’s a real eye-opener

Poke Staff. Updated March 7th, 2024

Over on the medical journal the Lancet, they’ve just launched a new series about the menopause.

Here’s just a little bit of what they have to say.

‘Menopause is an inevitable life stage for half the the world’s population, but experiences vary hugely.

‘Many women feel unsupported as they transition menopause.

‘To better prepare and support women, the Lancet Series on menopause argues for an approach that goes beyond specific treatments to empower women with high-quality information, tools to support decision making, empathic clinical care, and workplace adjustments as needed.

‘The authors recognise how gendered ageism may contribute to negative experiences of menopause and call for reduced stigma and greater recognition of the value and contribution of older women.’

And we mention it because a particular section of it was highlighted by this woman, @sparklybarclay, who replaced every mention of ‘menopause’ with ‘erectile disfunction’.

And the resulting piece went viral on Twitter after it was shared by @hazard_leah because of what some people thought it said about attitudes towards women, and the menopause in particular.

Here it is again in full, and see what you make of it.

And a few of the many responses it prompted.

It’s not to say it’s reflective of the rest of the Lancet’s material – maybe they even address it? – but it’s quite the read.

Source @hazard_leah