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).
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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.'"
