Monthly Archives: August 2021

light through trees

Covid and the Climacteric – Pandemic Responses of Menopause Campaign and Support Groups

The term climacteric is a medical term to describe the spectrum of perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause. Issues faced by those in the climacteric have been accentuated by the pandemic. This includes misdiagnosis and misinformation that can make things difficult for all entering this transition, but particularly problematic for those entering this transition early, or from a trans or non-binary perspective.[i] In 2019 a BJFM survey found 48% of GPs had no training in menopause.[ii] 33 of 41% of UK universities do not have mandatory menopause education on the curriculum.[iii]

British Menopause Society notes challenges during the pandemic have resulted in difficulties in obtaining HRT.[iv] There have been concerns over mental health as women in the climacteric are three times more likely to develop depression than pre-climacteric women.[v] A survey by CBII 71% of women over 40 say lockdown has increased symptoms of anxiety in climacteric women (although stats are not available for nonbinary it is anticipated that this would also be echoed, alongside other intersectional pressures including those of race, class and disability).[vi] Medical journals have noted an increase in suicide rates as become a significant public health issue during covid.[vii] There have been reports of increased cases of early menopause and suspected links between oestrogen levels and covid-19 where falling oestrogen levels increase the risk from the disease.[viii] Overlapping symptoms of long COVID and perimenopause have also been reported, alongside a lack of medical support on issues such as irregular periods.[ix]

However, in these dark times we have seen positive changes happen informed by the difficult and conflicted times we are in.[x] Despite the challenges of Covid we have seen significant political progress on climacteric conversations and law. A Private Member’s which makes provision about menopause support and services and to exempts HRT from NHS prescription charges in the UK is currently in its second reading in the House of Commons, following the #MakeMenopauseMatter campaigning in 2021.[xi] Organisations such as Menopause Café have seen their reach significantly increase during the pandemic.[xii] Existing menopause support services have tailored information to speak about the climacteric in lockdown.[xiii]

Magnetic Ideals are looking for groups to participate in some preliminary research. We are interested in looking into the support and campaigning that has been happening over the pandemic by organisations and groups that provide support, information and services for those who are perimenopausal and postmenopausal. We are hoping that this research will shed light and raise the profile of this work and help identify gaps moving forward.

This research initially takes the form of a short survey, and if anyone in your organisation or group is interested, we will also be conducting some further interviews. You can find the link to the survey here: https://forms.gle/TacYK4gET6vgm6LMA

Any personal data collected through the survey will only be seen by the Research Team.  We will never personally identify you in any reports or outputs produced as part of the research and your data will never be shared without your consent. If you have any queries about this project, please email: climacteric@magneticideals.org

Please share this post widely, thank you for your time, and for all the work you are doing.

Warmest wishes,

Dr Heather McKnight, PhD Legal Studies

Covid and the Climacteric Research Group

[i] ‘Transgender Health’, Rock My Menopause (blog), accessed 16 August 2021, https://rockmymenopause.com/get-informed/transgender-health/; Deborah Garlick, ‘How Do Hormonal Changes Affect the Trans and Non-Binary Community?’, Menopause in the Workplace | Henpicked (blog), 21 July 2020, https://menopauseintheworkplace.co.uk/articles/how-do-hormonal-changes-affect-the-trans-and-non-binary-community/; Kate Johnston-Ataata, Jacinthe Flore, and Renata Kokanović, ‘Women’s Experiences of Diagnosis and Treatment of Early Menopause and Premature Ovarian Insufficiency: A Qualitative Study’, Seminars in Reproductive Medicine 38, no. 4/5 (September 2020): 247–55, https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0040-1721463.

[ii] Jessica Bateman, ‘Menopause Health Has “few Specialists and a Lot of Myths” – Can Tech Change That?’, the Guardian, 2 May 2019, http://www.theguardian.com/careers/2019/may/02/menopause-health-has-few-specialists-and-a-lot-of-myths-can-tech-change-that.

[iii] ‘Menopause Support Survey Reveals Shocking Disparity in Menopause Training in Medical Schools. – Menopausesupport.Co.Uk’, accessed 16 August 2021, https://menopausesupport.co.uk/?p=14434.

[iv] Bms Administrator, ‘British Menopause Society Further Update on HRT Supply Shortages (20 July 2021)’, British Menopause Society (blog), 20 July 2021, https://thebms.org.uk/2021/07/british-menopause-society-further-update-on-hrt-supply-shortages-20-july-2021/.

[v] ‘Suicide in Middle Aged Women: Could COVID Make a Bad Problem Worse?’, NextTribe, 15 September 2020, https://nexttribe.com/suicide-in-middle-aged-women/.

[vi] ‘Second Lockdown Causes Anxiety for Menopausal Women’, The Independent, 23 November 2020, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/lockdown-menopause-women-anxiety-mental-health-b1760332.html.

[vii] Leo Sher, ‘The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Suicide Rates’, QJM: An International Journal of Medicine 113, no. 10 (1 October 2020): 707–12, https://doi.org/10.1093/qjmed/hcaa202; Jayashri Kulkarni, ‘Perimenopausal Depression – an under-Recognised Entity’, Australian Prescriber 41, no. 6 (December 2018): 183–85, https://doi.org/10.18773/austprescr.2018.060.

[viii] Ricardo Costeira et al., ‘Estrogen and COVID-19 Symptoms: Associations in Women from the COVID Symptom Study’, MedRxiv, 19 August 2020, 2020.07.30.20164921, https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.30.20164921.

[ix] ‘How Does Long COVID Affect Periods?’, 17 February 2021, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/long-covid-and-periods-the-unspoken-impact-on-female-well-being.

[x] McKnight, ‘Chaos and Hope’; Tom Moylan, Becoming Utopian: The Culture and Politics of Radical Transformation (London, UK ; New York, NY: Bloomsbury Academic, 2020).

[xi] ‘Menopause (Support and Services) Bill – Parliamentary Bills – UK Parliament’, accessed 16 August 2021, https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/2897.

[xii] ‘Gather to Eat Cake, Drink and Discuss Menopause’, accessed 16 August 2021, https://www.menopausecafe.net/.

[xiii] ‘What to Do When You’re Not Feeling OK: Dr Louise Newson, Newson Health’, My Menopause Doctor, accessed 9 August 2021, https://www.menopausedoctor.co.uk/menopause/when-youre-not-ok.

The Oceans Are Rising and So Are We – Ongoing Research into the School Strikes on Climate Crisis

This research project presents an analysis of discourses presented by school students under the banner of the movements: Fridays for Future, Youth for Climate and School Strike 4 Climate.  It contends that these movements go beyond just presenting a vision of an inescapable future, or a simplistic request for adults to listen to science.  Instead, their vision is constructive of a better world as they challenge the failures of politicians, and arguably the adult public, demanding to play an active role in policymaking when it comes to the climate crisis.

The video essay below is an immersive experience (please listen to it with headphones if you can) and highlights some of the key issues that young people are raising and the complexity of the solutions they are grappling with. This was presented at “Taking Care in the Climate Crisis” Conference 2021.

The research argues that this movement is constructed of critical utopian discourse.  It considers how the anxiety in the Student Strike movement creates optimism, and the narratives of cathedral thinking are demonstrative of an open-ended utopian process. It aims to give an academic voice and documentation and represent the work and future imaginings of these movements, bringing the voices of young people, rather than their problematic media representations into spaces where power is held and change can be made.

What Next? Responding to the Pandemic
There has been concern over a turn away from climate activism during and after the pandemic leading to excuses to pursue business as usual. Youth protests have a vital role to play in re-emphasising the immediacy of the climate crisis. The movement initially relied on school children absconding from school on Fridays but the movement has had to find new modes of engagement during the pandemic. This has included moves to digital protest in the pandemic, movements such as @fff.digital have grown in popularity during the pandemic, there have been online streaming events, digital pickets and digital teach-ins. The movement has aligned with Black Lives Matter and continue to link colonial and capitalist oppression and violence with the climate crisis. An alliance of organisations conducted hybrid protests in Germany during the digital strike for climate change on 24 April 2020 as #FightEveryCrisis. Nineteen thousand joined the online live stream with contributions from activists, artists, and scientists. Alternative occupations took place where banners from 70 local groups were spread out in front of the German Bundestag. The UK Student Climate Network has used the time to build up systems and strategies, work on campaigns, and develop educational resources.

Magnetic Ideals are interested in continuing research and connecting with youth protestors about both their democratic demands and their modes of activism during and following lockdown. If you are interested in being involved in this research please get in touch.

Heather McKnight (PhD, Legal Studies)

heather@magneticideals.org

Read the full article ‘THE OCEANS ARE RISING AND SO ARE WE’: EXPLORING UTOPIAN DISCOURSES IN THE SCHOOL STRIKE FOR CLIMATE MOVEMENT in Brief Encounters journal: http://briefencounters-journal.co.uk/BE/article/view/217

Pending conference paper: 2021 – Critical Legal Studies, Conference, University of Dundee – Educating Utopia: The School Strike for Climate Crisis and their Legislative Visions

“SAVE THE FUTURE” – Utopian Temporalities of the School Strikes for Climate Crisis, H McKnight, Renewal Journal 28 (3) Political Temporalities, 2020