Dr Jennifer Gunter
Biography:
Dr. Jennifer Gunter is a Canadian-American OB/GYN with subspecialty training in infectious diseases in obstetrics and gynecology. She is an internationally recognized expert in menopause and vulvar and vaginal health, with extensive clinical experience in complex pain conditions affecting women.
Dr. Gunter is a leading science communicator and the author of four books, translating evidence-based medicine for both professional and public audiences. Her work focuses on improving care through rigorous evaluation of medical evidence, particularly in areas that have been historically underfunded or misunderstood.
Abstract:
Menopause is having a moment, but increased attention can be a double-edged sword. With more attention comes more research, innovation, education, and access to care, which is all desperately needed. However, the historical neglect of menopause has created an environment in which women’s unmet needs and valid concerns are exploited for profit. The use of misleading language and promotion of misinformation robs women of agency resulting in the use of age-old sexist and ageist tropes that uniquely affect women.
This is not the first “menopause moment”: two previous waves of interest have brought both advocacy and commercial claims that outpaced the evidence. This third wave of menopause brings an expanding information and product ecosystem that uses the power of the internet and social media to amplify both evidence and misinformation, leveraging our attention economy that rewards fear and the promise of simple solutions.
And while commercial interest can drive valuable innovation, it can also turn nonspecific symptoms, fear of aging, and the promise of hormonal optimization into highly profitable, but non-evidence-based products and services. The presentation explores the collision of sexism, ageism, taboos, and commercial incentives, and distinguishes evidence-led innovation from market-led exploitation. Two things can simultaneously be true: Menopause can be having a moment AND commercial enterprises can also be misogynistically seeking to exploit the impact of patriarchal systems to promote misinformation for profit. With better research, accessible evidence-based information, appropriate regulation, and care that restores agency through accurate information, the real promise of the menopause moment can hopefully be reclaimed and achieved.