Global rise in menopause HRT demand exposes systemic gaps in medical training and gendered healthcare disparities
Original framing: “Demand for menopause hormone therapy is on the rise – but training gaps remain for doctors” — The Conversation - Global
Menopause was medicalized in the 19th century as a 'deficiency disease' tied to hysteria and ovarian failure, a narrative that justified early hysterectomies and hormone therapies. The 2002 Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study, later debunked for flawed methodology, falsely linked HRT to increased stroke and breast cancer risks, causing a global panic and decades of under-treatment. This history reveals how gendered science and corporate interests shape medical dogma.
The 'training gap' in menopause care is a symptom of a deeper crisis: a biomedical-industrial complex that pathologizes natural aging while failing to address structural sexism, racial bias, and corporate capture of women’s health.
Historical precedents like the WHI debacle show how flawed science, amplified by media sensationalism, can create decades of harm, while indigenous and community-based models offer viable alternatives. Marginalized women—especially women of color and LGBTQ+ individuals—are disproportionately affected by this system, yet their voices are systematically excluded from both research and care. A systemic solution requires decolonizing medical education, regulating pharmaceutical influence, and centering community-led care, while using technology (like AI) to dismantle bias rather than reinforce it. The trickster’s role is to expose this absurdity: a society that fears aging but refuses to care for those aging, commodifying their bodies while ignoring their wisdom.