The Menopause Industrial Complex with Naomi Darom: Are women being heard or just targeted?

Show Notes:Thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today. I really appreciate you being part of our growing community.And thank you Naomi for such a truly interesting and informative conversation. It was packed with information and here the top 5 takeways I would love to share with you:1) When I read her substack about the menopause industrial complex, I knew I needed to interview Naomi on the podcast. She describes the MIC as the array of products, services and ads that are targeted at middle aged women who are going through perimenopause, menopause and post menopause.2) It’s a system thing, not just a woman thing. The system includes a severe lack of menopause training and education in our medical systems. This needs to change and it should not come down to women having to do their own research in order to tell their doctors (if they are lucky enough to actually have a provider). It’s a structural challenge.3) Women are still impacted by the nasty symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, regardless of the lack of information and support from the medical field, so this creates the confluence between social media (and the algorithm) where women can share their symptoms and commiserate and the MIC which targets their products and services at these women. So yay, our power is being acknowledged as a consumer sector, but at the risk of being targeted in a very ruthless way. Naomi underscores the importance of research and skeptism when you are looking into the different supplements and finding a healthcare professional with menopause training and experience.4) We can use the power of our consumer sector to change the system. There needs to be public education to counter all the misinformation, more education of medical providers, and better advice and guidance to women navigating the new world of perimenopause and menopause.5) We need to learn how to embrace aging with grace and beauty, and in so doing, resist the targeting by the MIC. Think of celebrities like Jamie Lee Curtis, Paulina Porizkova, Helen Mirren, Gillian Anderson.Links:The Gender Nerd | SubstackNaomi Darom | LinkedInDesiderata: Original TextJamie Lee Curtis Says Turning 60 Made Her Realize I 'Have No Time to Waste on Toxic People'Helen Mirren Opens Up About Embracing Aging at 80 - ParadePaulina Porizkova on Aging and Being ‘Terrified’ of WrinklesLesson of Worth - Gillian Anderson