There's a reason you didn't know much about menopause

PLUS: Menopause finally got a Senate hearing + the FDA's testosterone workshop, unpacked

Estimated reading: 5 - 6 minutes

👋 Hi Friends,

Welcome to the September 29th edition of Menopaussible—bringing you the news you can use and the ⚡ energy ⚡ you need to support your menopause journey. I'm Maria Caracci Ciccolella—mindset coach and menopause advocate. (Connect with me on IG or LinkedIn!)

This issue closes out Perimenopause Awareness Month by looking squarely at why the month exists in the first place—the lack of awareness around (peri)menopause, the stigma attached to it, and the need for more support. In essence: how did we get here? How is it that in 2026, women know so little about menopause—and why do we view it so negatively?

We're boiling it down to three root causes. But fear not—as readers (and perhaps sharers) of this newsletter, we're one by one changing that.

Women as the "Weaker Sex"

The first root cause: deeply held societal views about women—stigmas attached to their health and aging that, over history, were weaponized to keep them in their place. Look back far enough and you'll find women's own anatomy used to assign them inferior status: a smaller frame meant they were frail, less capable; a smaller cranium implied a smaller brain—therefore more emotional, if not hysterical. Once they were done reproducing, their value to society dropped accordingly. Despite modern times, these views persist—just in different forms. Frailty and emotional excess live on in skinny culture and the idea of women "being hormonal." And the value placed on reproductive health? Raise your hand if your OB-GYN was more prepared to talk about your pregnancy than your menopause.

Women Were Left Out of Modern Medicine

Which brings us to the medical field itself—which, as we know it today, was defined by men and, at its founding, sought to exclude women. (Unfun fact: the profession of obstetrics and gynecology was established in part by disenfranchising women from their role as midwives—through licensing laws, credentialing restrictions, and exclusion from universities.)
History shows that medicine largely did not prioritize women's health, if it did not outright dismiss their symptoms as being a product of their sex (or desire for it). The womb, believe it or not—despite being prized for its reproductive capability,was actually seen as a source of infection or malady.

And while modern medicine has come a long way, notably with women actively participating in the field, ripples remain. This is most notable in the fact that many of today’s guidelines—from the practice of medicine to nutrition and exercise—have been largely based on the study of men. In fact, it has only been 33 years since Congress mandated that all government funded research include women in their studies.

Of course, the most notable ripple is one we touched on earlier—the lack of education and understanding around menopause in the medical profession. A 2023 study of OB-GYN residency programs, published in the journal Menopause, found that just 31% had any dedicated menopause curriculum at all. That means—despite a 4-year residency—OB-GYNs are completing their entire training and entering practice still largely unprepared for this life transition. And that's just the symptom of a larger problem, given that menopause isn't simply a feature of reproductive health, but a multi-system event with effects on metabolic, cardiovascular, and mental health.

A Compounding Effect

So on one hand, you have a long history of society diminishing women, valuing them chiefly for their reproductive years—ageism, plainly. On the other, a field of medicine that—despite far more women practicing within it today—remains built on a foundation that once dismissed women altogether, waved off what they were going through as unremarkable, or worse, pathologized it as hysteria.
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What do you get from that combination? Generations of women who were ashamed to be in menopause and who didn't talk about it—with anyone. So until recently, we've had a giant vacuum where menopause information should be, because there was no desire or demand. Cue today.

From Information Vacuum to (Mis)Information Overload

Welcome to the attention economy. Now here in the mid 2020s, women like you and I are talking about it—or rather—asking about it: what is happening? And that vacuum has drawn in a rush of information (and I would add, a lot of buyer-beware misinformation). Experts, influencers, and entrepreneurs have now all moved in to fill the void—and in some combination of the three, are trying to make money off your lack of knowing and “suffering” (because where there is a need, there is always a marketing solution).
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So the question is no longer whether you'll find information—you will, everywhere. The real question is, who you'll trust to give it to you straight? That's precisely the gap this newsletter exists to close: not hype, not fear, just the facts you need, from someone who isn't selling you anything but clarity.

Menopause or Marketing: Three Key Questions to Ask

• Too good to be true? One product or protocol promising to "fix" menopause is a red flag—your body's more complex than a silver bullet.
• Check the research. Was it peer reviewed? And what was it actually asking? A stat can be true and still misleading if it's answering a different question than the one being sold to you.
• What do they stand to gain? If the answer is "a sale" or “fame,” treat it as marketing first, education second.

All the Paussibilities

Everything you just read was about limits—the ones society placed on women, the ones medicine built into its own foundation, the ones that grew out of a vacuum nobody filled with real answers. But limits don't stay in history books. Some of what's holding you back right now was put there by someone else's expectations, long before you knew to question it. Some of it, you built yourself, one quiet compromise at a time.

You Named the Rule. Now What? A free clarity conversation can help you build the plan to actually rewrite it. Book a free clarity consult here.

PLUS: News Items

Menopause Finally Got a Hearing on Capitol Hill
​On September 16th, the Senate held its first-ever hearing devoted entirely to menopause—covering physician training, research funding, and patient care. It's a small step, but it's the first time this life stage has gotten this level of institutional attention. Worth naming for readers who've felt like this transition gets no attention at all.

What We Actually Know About Testosterone — And What We Don't
​The FDA held a public workshop on testosterone for women on September 17th, and The Vajenda published a sharp, unsentimental two-part breakdown of what was said—including debunking the myth that there's a "too low" testosterone level, and why the product available in Australia isn't automatically the answer everyone assumes it is. It's a good antidote to the hype cycle around testosterone.