Menopause is being openly discussed more than ever before, but there is still a long way to go to ensure the conversation recognises cultural differences and provides the same access to support for women from all ethnicities and backgrounds.
In 2022, a women's health study published by the University of Michigan showed that black women are more likely to experience symptoms related to menopause, including hot flushes, depression and sleep disturbances. And not only that - black women are less likely to receive medical and mental health services to treat these symptoms.
Astonishingly, the study authors said that until their findings, there had been no effort to look at racial health disparities in the 25 years of research used in the report, concluding that it's high time we "reflect and reframe" the discussion around menopause, race and ethnicity.
For Omisade Burney-Scott, making the menopause narrative more inclusive is at the heart of her work. The social justice advocate is the founder of The Black Girls' Guide to Surviving Menopause, a multimedia project with podcasts and zines that are focused on normalising menopause and ageing by sharing the stories of black women, women-identified and gender expansive people.
Speaking to Red about the inspiration behind her work, Omisade said that her interest in equity and justice started from a young age. "I've always been a person who, when I observed something that I felt was unfair, I would speak to it," she says.
It was this passion for social activism that led Omisade to create the BGG2SM platform while taking a sabbatical from social justice work in 2019.
"Initially, I wanted to interview other black women who are about my age or older," she explains.
"I wanted to ask them: 'How are you navigating this phase of your life? What does it feel like? How are you being supported? How are you navigating your emotional, mental and physical health? What does intimacy look like for you?' It then became clear that this was going to be a bigger project than I thought."
BGG2SM, which is now supported by a team of nine, is centred around three key beliefs. The first is based on "the principle that black women are inherently valuable, and that we can protect and heal ourselves and liberate ourselves," says Omisade.
"I believe that part of the conversation that we are having around menopause involves addressing people's bodily autonomy or body sovereignty. So much of what patriarchy and misogyny says to us is that you don't have the right or the ability to trust what your body says or the autonomy to decide how you want your body to be in the world."
A focus on intergenerational healing is also crucial to the platform's work. "So many of the conversations that we've had with people are like, 'I don't know what's happening to myself, my mother and I never had this conversation'," says Omisade. "How do we invite the conversation that allows us to engage in some intergenerational healing?"
Lastly, partnering with the right people and communities is a principle that Omisade continues to protect. "One of the challenges that we've had, as one of the few black women-led platforms in the US, is we've been tokenised a bit," says Omisade. "And it's a fascinating thing when people will say, 'we would like for you to be on our panel so we can have street credibility.' When we partner, we want to be in right relationship. Ultimately, we see our work as a pathway to deeper policy change. Our goal is to be a sacred space to continue to elevate voices that are already marginalised."
When it comes to helping those marginalised voices get heard, Omisade says part of the problem is that the discourse is happening, but it is "invisible" to the mainstream. "There are a lot of people who have been doing the work but have not been getting the star power quality. If you look at social media, you would think that they don't exist."
As part of BGG2SM's mission to explore the truths of ageing and menopause in an inclusive way, Omisade has made being "open and transparent" a priority. "Community members who may happen upon our platform for the first time don't have to try to navigate behind a paywall to find information in or to listen to a story or to read one of our zines. What [women] need is community, what they need is to see their story reflected."
Omisade's own experience of menopause, which has left her with the "lingering symptom" of insomnia, made her realise that "people don't understand how much your hormones impact your entire body".
Her words of advice? "Trust your body. Sometimes we want to rush to resolution and it's okay for us to be patient with ourselves. And it's okay for us to give ourselves permission to move through the messiness of life. Remember that you are the expert of your own body."