Women in Oaxaca, Mexico face the same challenges as other women in the world. What differs for them than the women in our country are the deep rooted cultural beliefs that are imposed upon them. The information relayed to them is persuasive and almost to the point of misleading with regards to menopause. HRT is the recommeded treatment for most women but the reason for its use differs than what American women hear. The doctors there tell the women that if they don't use HRT their marriages will dissolve. The majority of the town of Oaxaca are uneducated working class women whose families are their pride and joy. At a seminar regarding menopause and HRT women heard that men will start straying from their marriage if menopause and the effects of it cause any decrease in their sexual relationship. This is a synopsis of the information relayed, "Therefore, it is up
to the woman, to remain sexually
available and interested
to maintain the
integrity of not
only her relationship with her husband,
but her entire
family. The message
reiterated several times in
this seminar was that HRT could prevent the
potential dissolution of
the culturally prized nuclear family" (Ramirez 2006). In their local newspaper this warning was found regarding menopause, "a special report by one of the state medical associations
about the 'Specialized Manufacturing
heterosexuality Treatment for Menopausal
Problems' indicated that
it is important
for medicine to
have a holistic perspective
with regard to
menopause because it
affects not only
the health of the woman but
the health and
well being of
her family" (Ramirez 2006). This country is a devout Catholic nation. As a Catholic I can speak with certainty that women there take their role of mother as a God given task. The threat of losing her husband and breaking up her family would cause any woman there to take notice. Interestingly in Mexico women as a whole do not suffer the same Western types of symptoms, like hot flashes, and mood swings.
In our society we are taught to expect these bodily changes. We, however, are not threatened with our families breaking up and our husbands leaving the marriage to satisfy their sexual needs because of menopause.
Work cited:
Ramirez, Michelle. (Nov-Dec 2006). "Manufacturing Heterosexuality: Hormone Replacement Therapy and Menopause in Urban Oaxaca."
Culture, Health & Sexuality, Vol. 8, No. 6. pp. 545-558. Retrieved from: <http://www.jstor.org/stable/4005564>.
Hi Cathy,when I read your post my jaw dropped. I too spoke with a women who was going through menopause and a divorce at the time. My heart just bleeds for thw women of Oaxaco, Mexico. I can't imagine the pain they feel having to make a decission about thier health based on pressures from outside sources.While I respect other cultures beliefs and laws I'm still saddened to hear how these women are pressured about hrt.
ReplyDeleteSandra Holman
Hello Sandra! Thank you for your comment. The woman you spoke with must be feeling so unwanted in two very important aspects of a woman's life. What really bothered me about what I researched regarding the use of HRT, the medical experts never even discussed the possible dangers associated with using HRT. The increased risks of breast cancer, dementia and uterine cancer are all valid concerns of using this treatment. My hope for these women is the culture changes and they are at least given information regarding alternative treatment options.
ReplyDeleteMy mother currently takes HRTs and has informed me that it really does nothing for libido. Even though that is probably more than a daughter should know about (lol), I find it interesting. She takes them so that she can feel "normal", what ever that is. She and my step father have had to work at their marriage and have done home groups and things like that. I think it's terrible to exploit a woman's strong belief in her religion with the threat of her marriage falling apart. These are physiological changes that often times medicine cannot "cure". Just because she takes the HRTs is does not mean that she would want to have sex with her husband and no women should feel obligated to have sex with anyone husband or not. I'm so glad that you blogged about this topic. This kind of stuff gets me so fired up! Great job!
ReplyDelete- Michele
It's interesting that women are warned to keep up their libidos even if it means taking hormones. But men can also have more libido and physical problems as they get older. Isn't anyone worried about keeping the women satisfied? I just had to get that rant out first.
ReplyDeleteI think this attitude is even felt here in the United States. As women get older and go through menopause many fear that this means the end of their youth and fear that their husband will start to look elsewhere.
I've been through this. My husband of 27 years left me for a 24-year-old woman and at the time I thought it was because I was getting older. Now I know that that decision showed way more about who he was and wasn't about aging.
I say that women need not act from fear. The time in our lives when we face menopause is also the time that we are free from raising children and have wisdom gained from experience. If we could just look at how senior women are revered in non-Western societies then maybe we could be grateful for the place we are in the journey.
Hello Cathy,
ReplyDeleteThis is wrong on so many levels. HRT manufacturers are making a killing and women are being exploited and pressured to hold their families together through sex. I have so many questions. I wonder what is required of the men. I wonder what physical, mental and medical contributions are asked of them in holding their families together. I would also be interested to see a study on the effects of HRT in this community.
Sincerely,
Melissa Lewis
Hi Cathy,
ReplyDeleteI was extremely shocked by your blog. It really bother me that manufacturers are causing such a problem for these women. My heart like Sandra's goes out to these women. I too have the same questions as Melissa and I also would like to know who was in charge of this seminar and is there other information that can be given to these women to give them a little encouragement.
Cathy,
ReplyDeleteWOW!! I did not know that women were told that their marriages would dissolve if they did not take HRT!That is so awful. If that is all it takes to dissolve the marriage, I dont think that there was much of a marriage to begin with. I know that the cultural beliefs are very deep rooted in the mexican culture and that is always something that I have respected but I certainly do not respect scaring a woman into taking a medication that could cause cancers that they cannot afford to treat!! Great post!
Rachel Cowley-Portillo