Let's Talk Menopause!
Menopause is a significant change that many people go through, but most of the time, education about it only mentions that menstruation will stop. It often overlooks how menopause affects the mind, body, and people's relationships with others. With the project Let's Talk Menopause, we want to invite more open conversations about menopause.
We hosted workshops about menopause with six mothers and their daughters
Our Process
During the workshops, the mothers shared their experience with menopause. This ranged from physical experiences such as hot flushes and joint pains, to mental experiences such as depression and social experiences such as the need to share about menopause with others, or avoiding social situations because of insecurities.
Together with their daughters, the mothers then crafted artefacts that could be used to make it easier to communicate about menopause. For themselves, or for others in the future.
Based on the artefacts and the conversations during the workshops, we designed the artefacts in the exhibition Let's Talk Menopause. The exhibition is meant to open up conversations about menopause. The artefacts both represent the conversations that we had with the mothers and daughters in our workshops, and invited visitors to have their own.
The Artifacts
Conversational Cups - Menopause can feel like a secret no one talks about. These cups invite you to start a conversation about it.
Hold Me - Menopause can feel like trying to contain an explosion. This object allows for tension release and self-care through squeezing.
Collecting Experiences - Menopause can feel like not knowing when something is related to menopause. This wall captures experiences; share yours.
Head into Menopause - Menopause can feel like living in a constantly changing body. Heading into this object will allow you to experience these uncontrollable changes.
Menopause Library - Menopause can feel like needing to convince others that what you are experiencing is real. This is a collection of resources curated by people experiencing menopause.
Curious about the artefacts?
Experience them for yourself at DDW
You can find Let's Talk Menopause in the Design United exhibition in Het Klokgebouw, Hall 3 for the entire duration of the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven.
The exhibition is opened daily from 11 am until 18 pm and can be accessed with a Dutch Design Week wristband.
Additionally, join us for the Dialogues Session on Thursday October 24th from 10:00-12:30 if you want to discuss menopause, healthcare and wellbeing with us in more detail.
We are passionate about breaking taboos
As part of a 4TU collaboration between University of Twente, Delft University of Technology and Eindhoven University of Technology, we set up this collective to establish a feminist health research community, and to sow the seeds of a feminist design research agenda in The Netherlands.
