Medicalization of women's third age

Area of Science:

• Sociology of Health and Illness
• Medical Anthropology
• Gender Studies

Background:

• Medicalization redefines normal life processes, including menopause, through a medical lens.
• Previous focus on medicalization of menopause centered on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and physician prescribing habits.
• The visual representation of menopausal women in media and pharmaceutical literature has evolved significantly.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the visual portrayal of menopausal women in pharmaceutical literature and mass media.
• To contrast 1990s imagery with earlier depictions of menopause.
• To explore the impact of these visual representations on societal perceptions and women's self-perception.

Main Methods:

• Content analysis of visual imagery in pharmaceutical advertisements from the 1970s and 1990s.
• Comparative analysis of media portrayals of menopausal women across different decades.
• Discourse analysis of the framing of menopause and aging in health and media contexts.

Main Results:

• 1970s pharmaceutical ads depicted menopausal women as depressed and sickly.
• 1990s imagery presented menopausal women as fit, healthy, and youthful.
• This idealized image contrasts with the lived reality of menopause but shapes self-perception and societal views.

Conclusions:

• The visual representation of menopause has shifted towards an idealized image of health and fitness.
• This idealized image influences how menopausal women perceive themselves and are perceived by society.
• Health has become a key virtue for aging women, with increased individual responsibility for bodily outcomes during menopause.