Menopause is getting its own conference in Minneapolis — and the attention it deserves

Menopause is no joke, even if our society has treated it as such.

The cliché of a woman furiously fanning herself in the middle of a hot flash has long been the standard image that comes to mind of a person struggling with menopause.

But these days, the floodgates to information about menopause have swung open. Women have taken to TikTok and Instagram to detail their various symptoms, ranging from weight gain to sleep disruptions. Hormone replacement therapy, while not for everyone, is shedding some of its stigma from a previous generation. Hollywood stars from Naomi Watts to Halle Berry are speaking up about their experiences with menopause, signaling that a growing number of women are refusing to suffer in silence.

And now, Minnesotans have a chance to hear more about menopause and perimenopause — the years leading up to a woman’s final period — at a conference Thursday. The Change Summit is convening nationally renowned voices, including Dr. Sharon Malone, to educate health care providers, insurance companies and everyday women about this historically overlooked stage of life.

Malone is an OB/GYN, chief medical adviser at Alloy Health, host of the new podcast The Second Opinion and author of the New York Times best-selling book “Grown Woman Talk.” (She’s also a close friend of Michelle Obama and is the wife of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.)

Here’s a snippet of my conversation with Malone, edited for clarity and length.

Q: Why is menopause having a moment now?

A: The explosion of social media is what has changed things for us. I have been having this same conversation in my office for 30-plus years. There’s not a lot of brand new information; this is just getting the information out to the general public. Millennials are the first generation that hasn’t heard all the negativity [about hormone replacement therapy]. They’re demanding different answers.