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Book ClubsChapter 13: Post-Menopause | "Woman: An Intimate Geography" by N. Angier
Hi Everyone! And thanks for your interest in reading "Woman: An Intimate Geography"! Since each topic is has so much information and is perfectly contained in one chapter, I will be making weekly threads per chapter to discuss each aspect of female biology described in this book. Note that there is a 1999 version, as well as a 2014 refresh with updated/additional information. I am using the 2014 version.
These threads will primarily focus on one book, and I ask that the discussion generally limit to the book itself. If after reading, you went off to do additional research, I encourage you to share how that has supplemented your engagement with the book. And of course, if anyone decides to pick up this book at a later date, you're welcome (and encouraged) to continue the conversation!
Ova, Chromosomes, Body, Clitoris, Uterus, Hysterectomies, Breasts, Breast Milk, Ovaries, Hormones, Estrogen & Sex, Menopause
In Chapter 12, we read how modern doctors resist the idea of a natural menopause. Chapter 13 explores the evolutionary role of post-menopausal women. Why might've we evolved to cease estrogen production at ~50, when humans can live for decades beyond that?
Happy Mother's Day to all who are celebrating this year!
Also -- is this where the cross-cultural stereotypes of grandma trying to feed you all the food in her house comes from? lol
I liked learning about the Hazda people and their legion of post-menopausal women who help sustain the community.
I thought the narrow focus of Kim Hill and Magdelena Hurtado's study of the Ache people was interesting. I and my friends are from (different) cultures where families are large and it's not just grandma taking care of everybody, but grandma, great aunts, aunties, cousins, pitch in and help raise the kids.
I liked the idea that humans, once they've avoided all the usual obstacles, could also have lived a very long life, even pre-industrialization. It makes aging seem incredibly natural. It's a comfort to know that some people have lived far longer than 45 (and perhaps even up to 100), even in the far past, without modern interventions. I guess I feel like relying too much on "modern medicine" (after a point) to sustain life just makes me think we're inching closer to uploading our brains onto the internet (ick).
Angier's description of women needing their mother, or a mother-like older female figure is interesting. She talks about how separated by age women are, tending to befriend those of a similar age and not so much with those older (or younger). I really do appreciate the forum Ovarit has provided. It seems rare for women of all ages to come together and discuss topics and issues that concern women.