How can women see Menopause as a time of growth instead of loss?

For many women, menopause has been framed as loss—of youth, fertility, desirability, or relevance. This narrative did not arise by accident. Across cultures, when women’s authority and autonomy have increased, it has often been pathologized and feared. Menopause became medicalized—something to treat or manage—rather than recognized as a natural and meaningful transition.

As anthropologist Margaret Mead once noted, “There is no greater power in the world than the zest of a postmenopausal woman.” What we have labeled decline is often the shedding of myths that no longer fit.

Seen through a wider lens, menopause is not an ending but an initiation. The hormonal shifts of midlife influence perception, intuition, creativity, and emotional truth-telling. In many ancient traditions, this surge of intensity was understood as a rise in life force—energy to be guided rather than suppressed. Fertility does not disappear; it transforms into the capacity to birth wisdom, vision, and leadership.

When this passage is witnessed—through ritual, reflection, movement, and community—it becomes a threshold into authority rather than isolation. By changing the story of menopause, we reclaim elderhood not as decline, but as a powerful season of purpose, vitality, and contribution.

Claiming and naming this passage is part of our power. We are not post-menopausal; we are Queenagers! What is a Queenager? A Queenager reflects on her life through the lens of Sovereighty, Sensuality and being of Service.

“A Queen knows how to feel the world and turn it into art.” Queendom song by Maika Russell

Welcome to you, women in perimenopause and menopause! What support are you seeking?

Greta Grace, published in Global Woman Magazine