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Oct 1 • 8 tweets • 5 min read
October is #MenopauseAwarenessMonth.

I am “aware” of my menopause every day. To make up for the silence & taboo that ensures we know next to nothing about what happens to our bodies during this time, I'll be sharing some of my essays throughout the month.
feministgiant.com/p/essay-menopa… Four pictures of Mona arranged in a square. In each she is w
If you've ever menstruated, you can go through #menopause, a point in life that marks 12 months without a menstrual cycle.

The time leading up to menopause is known as #perimenopause, and once you’ve reached the point of 12 months w/out a menstrual cycle,you are post-menopausal
It is not just cis women who experience menopause.

Remember non-binary people, trans men, and other gender non-conforming /expansive groups who also experience menopause and do so under even greater levels of silence and taboo.

#MenopauseAwarenessMonth
I am editing an anthology for @Unbound that brings together a diverse group of contributors who'll be sharing their menopause experiences.

I explain here feministgiant.com/p/essay-bloody… #MenopauseAwarenessMonth
I found out almost by chance that #perimenopause could last up to 14yrs.

At first, I thought “Are you fucking kidding me?” And that quickly turned to “How the hell did I not know that?” How was a feminist like me so ignorant about #menopause? Was I not paying attention?
I am a month away from that 12 months without a period.

And I swear by all things magnificent, if my period comes back again I WILL FUCKING DESTROY MANY THINGS.

Like Evelyn in Everything Everywhere All at Once, which I call the perfect menopause allegory feministgiant.com/p/essay-the-me…
I'll be sharing more of my essays on menopause in the coming days.

They are all free to read and share.

Support my work and subscribe--it's free, no paywall or ads.

If you can pay, it helps to keep it free.

feministgiant.com #MenopauseAwarenessMonth
Menopause has kicked my fucking ass.

It has been a great churner, discombobulating all of me.

It has taken whatever Mona I used to be pre-perimenopause and shaken her free at the seams.

More soon. feministgiant.com/p/essay-menopa… #MenopauseAwarenessMonth

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More from @monaeltahawy

Mona Eltahawy Profile picture
Oct 2
If you’re wondering where along my menopause journey I am, it is far enough that if I hear a voice in my head saying "Oh my god, you can't write about that!" I WILL IN FACT WRITE ABOUT THAT. To mark #MenopauseAwarenessMonth, some thoughts on shamelessness.
When you are shameless, you cannot be shamed.

Few things are surrounded by more shame and silence than a cis woman who is no longer young, her vagina which is no longer wet, and her sex drive which is not supposed to exist. feministgiant.com/p/moisturize-y… #MenopauseAwarenessMonth
If I thought I needed to be brave to write about my 2 abortions,it is next level courage to admit to being that cis woman who is no longer young, whose vagina is no longer wet & whose sex drive is not supposed to exist.

So here I am looking shame in the eye, daring it to test me
Read 9 tweets
Mona Eltahawy Profile picture
Sep 30
Menopause is the hardest thing that has ever happened to me. And it’s the best thing I’ve ever gone through.

Menopause is shit. Menopause is amazing. #menopause #perimenopause
What if #menopause is a dive into the self to explore the myths of what we're supposed to be at this stage of our life, what "success" is, what "milestones" to celebrate or regret. And to then wreck them.

A necessary wreckage.

feministgiant.com/p/essay-menopa… Four pictures of Mona arran...
Is #menopause harder when you’ve ticked off milestones that have become reminders of how few of them lie ahead still; are they reminders, in other words, of how little time is left?
Read 9 tweets
Mona Eltahawy Profile picture
Sep 29
Yesterday, an ageist, misogynist fuck thought that calling me an "old lady" was the height of insult. The irony being, of course, that I regularly post #ThisIs55 and write about being perimenopausal. So here are some old lady pictures of me celebrating #ThisIs55 📷 @rerutled Mona from the shoulders up, in a sleeveless dress with a bow
Please don't anyone write to tell me "you don't look 55/you look great for 55." That is not the compliment you think it is. I am 55. That's it. I look whatever I look right now. Mona is an "old lady" who loves the way she looks. 📷 @rerutled Mona sitting at a table with her hands folded in front of he
Mona is an old lady who writes quite frequently about being an old lady
feministgiant.com/p/essay-menopa…
Read 13 tweets
Mona Eltahawy Profile picture
Sep 29
I wrote this letter to white women cheering Iranian women because I’ve had white women come to my events and ask how they can help Muslim women over there somewhere far away because it’s easier than actually doing something about women over here.
It is way past time for white women in the U.S. who have ever asked “How can I help Muslim women” and “Why do Muslim women submit to misogyny?” to start obsessing instead over their white sisters who benefit from white supremacist & theocratic patriarchy
feministgiant.com/p/essay-dear-w…
It is harder to see Foot Soldiers of the Patriarchy when they look like you.

It is easy to see theocrats when they don't look like you.

feministgiant.com/p/if-amy-coney… #IranProtests2022 #mahsamini
Read 12 tweets
Mona Eltahawy Profile picture
Sep 29
We are more than what's on our heads and what's in between our legs:

In Iran, women are fighting against theocrats who enforce hijab by burning shit down, including their hijab.

In the U.S., what are the women who are fighting against theocrats who enforce abortion bans doing?
As you watch the glory and power of the feminist revolution against theocrats in Iran, ask yourself where the fuck is your feminist revolution against theocrats in the U.S. feministgiant.com/p/essay-dear-w… #IranProtests2022 #MahsaAmini
Glory and power to the women in Iran who have seized the narrative and become object and subject.

Glory and power to the women in Iran for serving us this challenge.

feministgiant.com/p/essay-women-… #MahsaAmini #IranProtests2022 #IranRevolution2022
Read 4 tweets
Mona Eltahawy Profile picture
Sep 29
Mona is an old lady who reminds everyone of the importance of moisturizing one’s vagina and also of telling ageist misogynist fucks to fuck off feministgiant.com/p/moisturize-y…
Mona is an old lady who writes quite frequently about being an old lady feministgiant.com/p/essay-menopa…
And Mona is an old lady who has written and spoken extensively about the importance of profanity feministgiant.com/p/essay-why-i-…
Read 5 tweets

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