A unique movement addressing middle-aged women's medical options launched at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, where musicians and medical professionals gathered to break the taboo surrounding menopause and perimenopause.
The Menopunkapalooza music festival brought together 750 festivalgoers, a dozen Pacific Northwest punk rock icons, and doctors to openly discuss women's sexual health and the benefits of hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
The event combined musical performances with medical advocacy, featuring a 10-point hormonal justice Bill of Rights read aloud to the audience.
This signals a new wave of activism led by Gen X doctors and veteran artists.
Alicia J.
Rose, the 56-year-old founder of Menopunkapalooza, conceived the weekend events to generate funding and footage for her upcoming documentary titled Menopunks, which highlights personal experiences with menopause.
"I didn't know anything about menopause, including when I was going through it," Bratmobile's Allison Wolfe says in a trailer.
"It affected my confidence in my pussy," Peaches confesses.
The movement draws inspiration from the 1990s riot grrrl feminist wave, utilizing defiant music and organizing experience to tackle systemic failures in how the government and medical establishment handle midlife women's health.
"We were all around in riot grrrl and got to experience that wave of activism and community. That primed us for this.
Now we're all in menopause and we're like, 'What the F? This sucks,'" Calamity Jane's Gilly Ann Hanner said.
"But we're also like, 'Well, no one's going to do it for us. We got to fight.'"
Rose shared her own experience during the festival, explaining that crippling fatigue, hot flashes, and severe joint pain nearly forced her to stop performing entirely before she discovered her peers were suffering from identical symptoms.
"It went from decently shitty to holy-fucking-hell-my-life-is-over kind of shitty," Rose told the audience during the festival.
"I was like, I can't live like this."
Hanner, 59, experienced a sudden waterfall of symptoms after contracting Covid in 2021, which doctors struggled to accurately diagnose despite her excellent physical condition.
"My joints hurt and I couldn't digest any food and I was just weak," Hanner said.
"I was 53, 54, and felt old and feeble. It really messed me up."
The Role and Risks of Hormone Replacement Therapy
Medical experts note that HRT is the most effective treatment for counteracting declining estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone levels, while potentially reducing risks for dementia, heart disease, and osteoporosis.
Dr. Sara Kennedy, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette, noted that a 2002 report by the Women's Health Initiative caused HRT use to nosedive from nearly 30% to less than 5% by 2020 due to cancer fears.
Despite subsequent studies revealing flaws in the 2002 research, misinformation persists, leaving many physicians hesitant to prescribe hormone therapy and patients fearful of requesting it.
Hanner eventually found a nurse practitioner who recommended HRT after discussing the updated clinical evidence regarding risks and benefits.
"Isn't that bad for you?" Hanner asked the nurse practitioner.
"Well, yeah, that was the story, but new evidence has come to light, and quality of life benefits outweigh the risks."
Medical professionals at the festival emphasized that despite over 1 million American women entering menopause annually, the condition remains understudied and neglected in standard western medical education.
"When I went through medical school in the early-, mid-2000s, I think I spent one hour learning about perimenopause, menopause care," Kennedy said on Saturday.
"One hour for a condition – not a condition, a time of life – that half the world will experience."
Planned Parenthood clinics have implemented expanded training for clinicians on various HRT delivery methods, mirroring recent regulatory changes like the FDA's decision to rescind its 2003 restrictive guidance on hormone medications.
