Conceptualizations and embodiment of menopause in northern Arizona: navigating medicalization

Mende, Caroline (2023) Conceptualizations and embodiment of menopause in northern Arizona: navigating medicalization. Masters thesis, Northern Arizona University.

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Abstract

By viewing the body within a biocultural context, anthropologists demonstrate how menopause is both biologically and culturally mediated. From a biomedical perspective, menopause refers to the cessation of menstruation in people with biologically female bodies and is associated with a variety of physical, emotional, and psychosomatic symptoms. This thesis examines conceptualizations of menopause in northern Arizona and addresses how people embody menopausal symptoms beyond a biomedical interpretation. Informed by medical anthropological theory, I used a mixed methods approach to address the following research questions: (1) What are the key cultural domains of menopause for people experiencing menopausal symptoms in northern Arizona? and (2) How do people in northern Arizona conceptualize, experience, and embody menopause? Ten people participated in semi-structured interviews and nineteen people responded to free listing exercises about menopause and aging. Participants were between the ages of 41 and 59 and were predominantly white, financially well off, and married. All participants reported female/woman gender identities. All participants were asked questions about their demographic background, general health, and reproductive health via a Demographic and Health Survey. Findings suggest that menopause is a medicalized experience that participants associate with aging. Participants navigate medicalization by reframing their experiences through acceptance of change. This research provides an updated look at the biocultural relationship between meanings of menopause and embodied experiences and is pertinent to the medicalization of the female body and medical violence experienced by women and female-bodied people in medical settings. Findings are relevant to both public health interventions and medical training regarding menopausal bodies.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	Biocultural synthesis; Embodiment; Medical anthropology; Menopause; Northern Arizona
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of Social and Behavioral Science > Anthropology
Date Deposited:	22 May 2025 17:30
Last Modified:	22 May 2025 17:30
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/6169

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