Black Girl's Guide to Surviving Menopause

Black Girl's Guide to Surviving Menopause measures our impact by the continuation of expanding and normalizing the conversations and understanding around menopause to be inclusive and centering all Black people---all gender identities, sexual expression, and ages. There is a growing ecosystem of Black people talking about menopause and aging. Black Girl's Guide to Surviving Menopause has played a vital leadership role in ushering in this landscape and movement. We are menopausal alchemists, doulas, cartographers, and advocates. We have created a space that hasn't existed on this scale before this platform for Black women, women-identified and gender-expansive people navigating menopause no matter their age, and those who are curious about menopause and want to be prepared for the experience.

For example, in our most recent episodes of season 4 of the podcast, we interviewed Austen Smith. Austen is a Black genderqueer transmasculine writer, creative, and activist who experienced menopause two years ago as a result of their gender-affirming surgery. While Austen is not the first genderqueer, gender-expansive, or trans-masculine person we have interviewed for the podcast --we have interviewed Mo George and Ignacio Rivera in season 2, the late Chass Grissom in season 3 and Syd Yang in our first episode of season 4, he is the youngest at 30. Austen's interview is an exemplar of menopausal truths that typically are not addressed, affirmed, or elevated in the traditional white cishet menopause landscape. These truths include:

*Menopause doesn't always happen in your 40s and 50s
*Menopause happens to people who don’t identify as women
*Menopause happens to people who aren’t heterosexual
*Individual menopause experiences are impacted by white supremacy, patriarchy, homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny

In this episode, our producer, Mariah M. and I talk about our work as a team and our ethos around intergenerational work. We explore our relationship, what we have learned about working intergenerational and what we hope for the podcast.

ENJOY!

REGISTER TODAY!! 

Black Girls’ Guide to Surviving Menopause Podcast and Embodied WUNC @embodiedwunc presents “Say More: From Menarche to Menopause” on November 2nd at 7:00 pm EST. 

Join me and Embodied WUNC host Anita Rao for an intergenerational exchange about the changes our bodies experience and how we can normalize conversations about menstruation, menopause and aging through storytelling. 

This event is VIRTUAL and space is LIMITED so register today! https://bit.ly/SayMoreWUNC 

Check out our open source toolkit http://bit.ly/saymoretoolkit

Learn more! www.blackgirlsguidetosurvivingmenopause.com

Produced by Mariah M.

Hosted by Omisade Burney-Scott

Theme Music by Taj Cullen Scott

Season 4 of the podcast is sponsored by our local NPR station, WUNC, North Carolina Public Radio! www.wunc.org