Medicalization vs. adaptive models? Sense-making in magazine framing of menopause

Women over the age of 40 are largely absent from media imagery. This study examined how magazines have framed menopause over the past two decades, as an increasing number of women have entered the phase. Using a traditional content analysis, we analyzed author and source gender, topics, and photographs in menopause articles in seven news and women's magazines. A computerized content-analysis program was used to determine how the magazines framed menopause. "Framing" refers to the emphasis and theme(s) of an article. Women's magazines provided a broad range of topics to help women prepare and cope; news magazines reported scientific developments, particularly in fertility. More frames, including clearer descriptions of symptoms and effects, occurred in women's magazines. Female authors included menopausal women as sources, but males did not. Photos of menopausal women appeared in a small portion of articles, and the women shown were predominantly white. Findings indicate some consistency with media coverage of other women's health issues, but with greater differences between news and women's magazines.