UNITED STATES – MAY 2: Halle Berry speaks during a news conference on bipartisan legislation to raise federal research on menopause and women’s midlife health, outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, May 2, 2024. In the background from left, Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, also appear. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
At the recent Bare It All event in Santa Monica, CA, Halle Berry, Academy Award-winning actress and director, and Christina Aguilera, Grammy-winning singer, highlighted the need for better communication, less stigma, and more scalable solutions around menopause.
“Six thousand women go into menopause every day,” Berry said. “Two million women are in menopause in this country. It is not a niche problem. It’s a $22 billion business. It’s a problem that has been ignored for way too long.”
Berry admitted she didn’t even realize she was in menopause at first. “No doctor I had ever mentioned that I would enter menopause,” she explained. “My doctor told me he thought it was probably herpes… and then I found out it was vaginal dryness.”
Gaps In Menopause Awareness
Berry’s experience underscores how far healthcare still has to go in diagnosing and addressing menopause.
According to a recent study published in the Menopause journal, only 44% of women have ever had a conversation with their doctor about it. That needs to change.
As women age, menopause is one of many milestones they navigate—and they need support to thrive through it. Some aspects may be welcome, but others can be deeply disruptive. “In the beginning, I was embarrassed by being excessively sweaty and feeling like my mind was going crazy,” said Heidi Noctor, 62. “While not having a period was great, vaginal dryness was not. My symptoms were annoying, and they greatly affected my everyday life.”
Berry’s story points to a broader issue: even women with power and influence are not immune. Knowledge truly is power when it comes to managing menopause. Without education, patients struggle to advocate for themselves during this crucial time.
Menopause Disparities Across Communities
The problem is compounded by disparities in menopause knowledge across racial and ethnic groups. When asked six questions to gauge menopause knowledge, White women had the highest percentage of correct answers (55%), followed by Asian women (42%), Hispanic women (37%), and Black women (35%). These disparities reveal persistent barriers to accessing information and care, including:
- Communication gaps between providers and underrepresented groups—driven by differences in symptom reporting and limited provider training in managing menopause.
- Cultural and societal silence around menopause, which discourages women from seeking help or sharing their experiences.
- Lack of individualized care, where patients are treated as demographic groups rather than unique individuals.
Tackling these barriers requires a targeted, multi-layered effort. A first step is integrating sexual and menopause health into medical training. Some medical schools are already leading the way—such as Indiana University, the University of Minnesota, and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School—through dedicated courses, seminars, and innovative curricula. More research is also needed to better understand the biological, sociocultural, and environmental factors shaping menopause experiences among underrepresented populations. Just as important is providing culturally appropriate information and treatment options to close the knowledge gap. No patient has just one story; instead, their experiences are multifaceted, shaped by diverse backgrounds and histories.
Menopause And Sexual Health Stigma
Another barrier to empowerment is the ongoing taboo around sex and sexuality in medicine. Topics like masturbation and female pleasure are rarely discussed with patients. Yet most women want to talk to their doctors about sex, said Dr. Cynthia Graham, senior scientist at the Kinsey Institute and co-leader of the Menopause study.
Findings published in the Menopause journal show that most women say that they haven’t asked their doctor about sex, masturbation, or menopause—and most say that their doctor hasn’t talked to them about any of these topics either. Most women who said that their primary provider was a urologist or nurse/physician assistant also reported that this provider discussed menopause with them. However, the vast majority of women said they were seeing a PCP/family doc, and most PCPs don’t seem to be addressing topics like sex and menopause.
Breaking the data down further:
- By provider gender: Female doctors are slightly more likely than male doctors to discuss menopause (46% vs. 39.6%), sex (34.5% vs. 24%), and masturbation (6.4% vs. 2.7%). Still, most patients say their doctors aren’t addressing these topics at all.
- By provider type: Gynecologists are most likely to bring up menopause (62%) and sex (51.5%), though only 11% of patients reported a gynecologist discussing masturbation. By contrast, most women seeing a PCP/family doctor reported that these providers rarely addressed menopause or sexual health.
- By topic category: Patients asked their doctor about menopause (39.7%), sex life (11.6%), and masturbation (3.3%). More than half of patients (56.8%) haven’t asked about any of these topics.
- By patient comfort: Women reported discussing their sex life with their doctor (31.2%) and masturbation (5.3%)—despite evidence that masturbation can help manage menopause symptoms. Just 31.3% of women said they feel very comfortable bringing up sexual health issues with providers.
This silence reinforces stigma and shame. “Things your mother might not have been comfortable sharing with you—and her mother before her—are now things new generations of women want to understand,” Aguilera noted. “It’s just not cool anymore to not be informed.” Nowadays, women are taking charge of their health. They are seeking products that meet their needs, and companies are responding by creating effective, personalized, and tech-enabled brands and solutions.
Menopausal mature woman wearing green dress sitting at the desk in the office, having hot flashes and using hand fan.
getty
The Impact Of Ignorance About Menopause
With women living longer and making up the majority of the aging population, ignorance around sexual health has real consequences. Dismissing it not only overlooks a key aspect of overall health but also creates further barriers to managing menopause symptoms. For example, those experiencing early menopause are particularly affected due to a lack of public awareness, discussion, and education around its symptoms and challenges. Early menopause is a natural life transition for some women, but it is often misunderstood and stigmatized, which can prevent many from recognizing their symptoms and seeking appropriate medical care.
Research makes it clear: menopause and sexual health are critical to women’s long-term well-being. “Women don’t have to suffer anymore,” emphasized Catherine Magee, CEO of Playground, speaking at the Bare It All event. Thriving—not just surviving—through this life stage should be the goal. That means giving women access to science-backed solutions, education, and the space to use their voices—without stigma, shame, or isolation.
