"They see me as mentally ill": the stigmatization experiences of Chinese menopausal women in the family

BMC Women's Health

Research

Jintu Gu¹  Pei Zhao²  Jianyuan Huang³  Qiong Li³  Chenliang Luo⁴ 

[1]Department of Sociology, Hohai University, Nanjing, China

[2]Research Center for Environment and Society, Hohai University, Nanjing, China

[3]Yangtze Institute for Conservation and High-quality Development, Jiangsu Research Base, Nanjing, China

[4]Jiangsu Province Hospital, 211100, Nanjing, China

[5]School of Public Administration, Hohai University, 211100, Nanjing, China

[6]Shanghai Pudong New Area Tax Bureau, State Taxation Administration, 200120, Shanghai, China

关键词: Menopause;    Women;    Family;    Stigmatization experience;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12905-023-02350-y

 received in 2022-12-12, accepted in 2023-04-12,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundMenopausal women are regarded as “abnormal people” in China and are often discriminated against and ostracized, especially in the privacy of their homes. However, research on the stigmatization of menopausal women in China is limited. The aim of this study is to explore and describe the stigmatization experiences of Chinese menopausal women in the family and their feelings about these experiences.MethodsA phenomenological qualitative research design involving in-depth semi-structured interviews was selected. Our data analysis adopted Colaizzi's methodology.ResultsFourteen menopausal women participated in this study. Four themes and 12 subthemes emerged: (1) violent treatment (verbal and physical violence); (2) lack of attention and companionship (lack of understanding of physical and psychological suffering, neglect of the value of labour and difficulty finding someone to talk to and accompany them); (3) coping struggles (keeping quiet, fighting back, changing inappropriate perceptions and developing a menopausal transition management plan); and (4) despair (deep-rooted perceptions, restrictions on travel and consumption, and unknown "healing" times).ConclusionOur results suggest that Chinese menopausal women suffer physically and mentally within their families. The stigma of menopause is both a symptom of the broad societal lack of knowledge regarding menopause and a reflection of the patriarchal oppression of women in a specific cultural context. Accordingly, this study can help menopausal women and society in general better understand the former’s stigmatization experiences and amplify their inner voices. Moreover, it can serve as a reference for the formulation of menopause-related health policies in China and for advocating and promoting humanistic care for menopausal women.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023