Class, gender and culture in the experience of menopause. A comparative survey in Tunisia and France

Social Science & Medicine
Daniel DelanoëVirginie Ringa

Abstract

The experience of menopause can vary strongly from one society to another: frequency of hot flushes, other somatic and psychological symptoms, and changes in family and social relations. Several studies have shown that country of residence, country of birth, ethnicity, and social class all play roles in these variations. But few comparative anthropological studies have analysed the social processes that construct the experience of menopause or considered menopausal women's social and financial autonomy. To study the impact of the social status accorded to menopausal women and their social resources, during 2007 and 2008 we conducted a series of 75 in-depth interviews with women in different sociocultural settings: Tunisian women in Tunisia, Tunisian women in France, and French women in France, all aged from 45 to 70 years. Our methodological approach to the data included content analysis, typology development and socio-demographic analysis. Quite substantial differences appeared, as a function of social class and cultural environment. We identified three principal experiences of menopause. Tunisian working class women, in Tunisia and France, experience menopause with intense symptoms and strong feelings of social degradation. A...Continue Reading

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Citations

Nov 13, 2012·Maturitas·Guillaume LegendreXavier Fritel
May 8, 2014·Menopause : the Journal of the North American Menopause Society·Miriam T Weber, Pauline M Maki
Jul 18, 2014·Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal·Sevil HakimiFahimeh Ramezani Tehrani
Sep 19, 2014·Menopause : the Journal of the North American Menopause Society·Lynnette Leidy Sievert
Jun 6, 2013·Menopause : the Journal of the North American Menopause Society·Yunus AydinFezan Sahin Mutlu
Oct 26, 2016·Menopause : the Journal of the North American Menopause Society·Laura Huicochea-GómezDaniel E Brown
Feb 14, 2013·Menopause : the Journal of the North American Menopause Society·Farida FerrandVirginie Ringa
Jun 12, 2021·Maturitas·Dr Karin A StanzelProfessor Jane Fisher
May 8, 2021··Madeline BalaamMarianela Ciolfi Felice

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