Do you know what menowashing is?
It’s chocolate ‘menoshakes’, it’s ‘cooling pyjamas’, it’s ‘menopause nootropics for brain fog’, it’s ‘menolube’ for your shrivelled up vagina, it’s face creams made of yams that claim to cool your hot flushes, all neatly packaged up in an insipid ‘menopause mauve’ box.
Or if you want a proper definition, it’s where brands create products (or just repackage/rebrand existing products) specifically targeted at women experiencing menopause, that claim to relieve or eliminate the often debilitating symptoms, with zero evidence, to exploit a vulnerable population for their own financial gain.
And it’s something that’s really pissing me off right now.
But then again, as a woman I shouldn’t be surprised.
At every stage of our lives our insecurities have been targeted to make big bucks.
It begins with teenage years. Puberty and all the uncomfortable and embarrassing shit that comes with that.
You become a vulnerable population who’s insecurities are sold to.
Vaginal deodorants, special boxes to stash our tampons cos of course we should be ashamed to have them on view in our bags.
I used to use mine to stash my party drugs back in the day…cos no bouncer is going in there, believe me.
And of course teenage skin care products, cos god forbid you have acne and are not attractive to boys.
It continues into pregnancy.
If you’re lucky enough to get pregnant, you become a vulnerable population who are worried about the health of your baby, about whether you’re eating the right food, sleeping enough, doing the right thing.
Once again your insecurities are sold to.
Regular vitamins and supplements are packaged up as ‘pregnancy vitamins’ and the price is doubled.
Then of course you need to ‘lose that baby weight’ as quickly as possible…there’s always urgency right??
So starts the diet rollercoaster, when you can’t stop the ride when you want to get off, cos you need to be smaller, as quickly as possible.
Slimming Clubs, bootcamps, detoxes, juice cleanses (cos if we’re not given enough reasons to hate the outside of our bodies, let’s say the insides are ‘dirty’ and need cleansing too).
Celebrity diets celebrating people ‘boomeranging’ back into their pre-pregnancy jeans.
Now finally, after years of being defined by our fertility, and made to feel shit cos we aren’t smaller, younger, have smoother skin etc, we have ‘menowashing’ ♀️
When you’re perimenopausal, you feel like shit. You will literally try anything to feel better.
And they know it.
Creams, shakes, magnetic hormone balancing bracelets, NONE of it evidence based.
If like me, you’re sick of this shit, don’t buy into it.
Don’t give these products air time…their ‘authority’ is perpetuated by us following and clicking on their posts.
They are good at marketing, NOT at making you feel better. And because they’re good at marketing, their message spreads, the algorithim loves them, and we think – ‘well, it MUST be true, I keep seeing this product being talked about everywhere’.
Block them. Block accounts that make ridiculous fucking claims, and block the people trying to push them on you.
If you’re sick of being defined by your biology/fertility, don’t buy into it.
Don’t buy products that promise to ‘reverse your menopause’ ‘rebalance your hormones’ or ‘banish your menobelly in 10 days’.
Seek proper advice, from someone who knows what works.
And yep, I have absolutely no shame in saying that’s me ♀️
Cos I’ve studied for years to be able to help you, with methods that actually work, and all the support and accountability you can handle to implement them.
I am sick of all this other shit, sick of the amount of women who come to me with zero self confidence, zero autonomy for their health, disordered eating, poor body image and feeling completely disempowered.
We have years of bullshit to unpick….so let’s start…send me an email if you want some help.
