“There is not one but many menopauses”: the way we look at menopause must change

At 47, Sophie Kune was placed under artificial menopause. She then decided to create her Instagram account @menopause.stories to document this new stage in her life. Proof that the subject is of interest, his account quickly gained a huge following. He currently has more than 34,000 followers on Instagram. She also published the book Menopause and Free! published by Marabout, in 2021. Before renaming it Game is Not Ovaire for its “Poche” release, published by Marabout, two years later.

The same year, she also became involved in the committed collective #AllForMenopause, made up of four gynecologists and four women from civil society. The collective aims to better “inform those who are going through this crucial stage of their lives”, ” raise awareness among doctors for better patient care” and “alert public authorities and professional circles”. Journalist Pascale Senk interviewed Sophie Kune for Psychologies. Interview.

Why do you think it was necessary to offer another image of this period of femininity?

Because it was negative, invisible and unthought of. In any case, never thought of from an intimate point of view. When, in 2016, I looked for information on this stage, I discovered that, in addition to the materia medica on this subject, there was no transmission while life expectancy increased.

It was therefore necessary to “decorset” it. You then created “Menopause Stories” on Instagram. What first struck you?

What struck me was the very positive reception from the women, and their desire for intimacy. The fact that there is not one but several menopauses: that of the young woman who suffers from ovarian failure; that caused by a surgical procedure after cancer or a health problem; the one who, late, arrives after 55 years… And the fact that culture, family heritage, context will color each person’s experience: did she have children or not? How did she experience her abortions (if she had this experience)? How does she imagine what she is going to
become after this end of the cycle? Does this end of the cycle necessarily call for a transformation? SK: For me, menopause
is part of a continuum of femininity. Certainly, the drop in estrogen and the imbalance it brings during the perimenopause period can throw everything back into disarray. “I feel like I’m at the end of my rope,” one of them told me. And an occupational doctor can
interpret this as burnout! This is why we must be informed about this change. To take it to the next level.

To the point of being proud of it, like a “pride march”?

Having the privilege of reaching this stage in good health is already a source of pride!

How to get out of a victim position in relation to these physical and psychological upheavals?

By anticipating, by informing, by informing! Because when we arrive at the need for a work stoppage, it is already too late. You must anticipate the inconveniences that may arise, and protect yourself against them. We also need to change the imagination of menopausal women.

No, look at us carefully: we are not “old people”! We wear sneakers, colorful clothes, and we look for solutions in our lives!