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Gillian Anderson in the second season of "Sex Education." Photo Courtesy: Netflix
Netflix's very pedagogic Sex Education has been enlightening viewers of all ages for three seasons about all things sex. Its season two finale, which aired in 2020, saw Jean Milburn — played by the always flawless Gillian Anderson — having a conversation with her doctor about the possibility of being perimenopausal, which happens during the transitional period to menopause. "I've been feeling very tired and sort of heavy. And I've had this intermittent tight feeling around my chest," Jean tells her GP (general practitioner). Jean, who's a doctor herself and knows her facts, explains how perimenopause can cause surges in adrenaline. The GP thinks she's suffering from a broken heart, but she still orders some tests.
In the end, Jean turns out to be both perimenopausal and pregnant because that makes for better TV. The conversation she has with her GP is a good example of how to listen to our bodies and recognize certain signs though. But it's especially crucial in its portrayal of how to have a frank chat with a healthcare professional.
In episode ten of season three of Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson's Broad City , best friends Ilana (Glazer) and Abbi (Jacobson) are on a plane when Abbi gets her period. They promptly embark on a search for a tampon. Abbi asks an older woman, played by Marcie Lynn Ross, if she has one.
"I'm flattered you asked, even though many women my age experience spotting," the woman tells Abbi. The younger one confesses she'd totally forgotten about menopause. "Menopause isn't represented in mainstream media. Like no one wants to talk about it," the woman says but, by that point, Abbi has already disappeared. And the whole sketch, which aired in 2016, perfectly symbolizes how the subject tends to be treated in pop culture. In fact, putting together this article was a challenge altogether because there aren't that many references to menopause in film or television.
Actress and TV creator Pamela Adlon talks about it in her FX dramedy Better Things , where she plays Sam, a comedian and single mother of three daughters who live in Los Angeles. The show includes a televised comedy bit by Sam in its season four finale in which she talks about the intricacies of being a woman and aging. The episode ran in 2020. "Menopause, it's the grossest thing in the world. No one wants to hear about it, which is why nobody ever prepared you for it," Sam says with her three young daughters intently looking at her on a TV screen. "Why don't we say this to each other? Women have to say this to each other. Women are afraid to talk to each other. Women should be brothers to each other," she adds.
The episode and the inclusion of this reference are important because the conversation around menopause is not only important for people who may be experiencing it already or are about to do so, but also for young people who menstruate, so that they fully understand what's ahead.
Let's leave our article with a film written and directed by Nancy Meyers in 2003 and you'll see just the difference that a few years make. Something's Gotta Give stars Diane Keaton as Erica Barry, a famous playwright who falls in love with her daughter's (Amanda Peet) boyfriend, Harry Sanborn, played by Jack Nicholson. The first time Erica and Harry have sex, he asks about birth control. He's used to dating much younger women. "Menopause," she simply replies. "Who's the lucky boy?" he offers.
Of course, my main problem with this movie is not how little menopause is addressed — there are no other mentions — but the fact that Keaton's character would decide to make the age-appropriate choice and stick with Nicholson's when she could have ended up with Keanu Reeves' character.
Let's hope that for future World Menopause Days we have a broader representation of such a regular and natural occurrence.
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Source: https://www.ask.com/entertainment/tv-shows-movies-menopause?utm_content=params%3Ao%3D740004%26ad%3DdirN%26qo%3DserpIndex