In this qualitative, phenomenological study I employed oral history methodology, grounded in a life-span developmental and feminist approach, to explore the developmental importance of menarche in twenty older women's "bodily histories." Menarche is an important developmental event in the female life course because it represents a major point of confluence where the various streams of what it means to be female coalesce. Menarche is not only a biophysical phenomenon originating from inside a girl's body, but is a psychosocial transition as well. Further, menarche is a biopsycho-social event which is shaped by sociocultural and historical discourses and may have life-span developmental implications. Qualitative analyses of the bodily histories revealed that the older women remembered their first menstrual periods very clearly. The women spoke of menarche as an abrupt and disruptive event symbolic of adult fertility and sexuality and surrounded by silence. They associated menarche with the imposition of menstrual taboos and rules of adult femininity which restricted their behaviors. Many of the themes that emerged from the women's memories of menarche were also present in their narratives about subsequent menstrual and menopausal experiences. There was a continuation throughout their menstrual careers of the restrictions on their behaviors as a result of menstrual bleeding; the silence and confusion associated with processes of the female body; and the sexualization of their fertile bodies. Further, there was evidence of a continuity well into later-life of the medicalization of their bodies, as well as their use of language suggestive of a separation between their bodies and their selves. The generalizability of these findings is limited; the study sample was small, homogenous, and self-selected, and the bodily histories were collected retrospectively. Implications of these findings and directions for research, theorizing, and action are discussed. / Graduation date: 1996

Findings released from recent pivotal clinical trials on hormone therapy (HT) benefits and risks have stimulated a growing trend towards lower doses and earlier discontinuation of HT for menopausal women. Yet, there is little knowledge regarding women's personal experiences with the resultant earlier and possibly abrupt withdrawal of HT. The purpose of this study was to explore postmenopausal women's vasomotor symptom experiences after discontinuing HT. The data for this study was collected from menopausal women who discontinued HT. The study questionnaire was created through an extensive review of the literature as well as an expert panel review. The questionnaire was also piloted with a small group of women prior to its use in this study. Data analysis consisted of descriptive analysis with means and standard deviations and/or frequency distributions with percentages for demographic data, health behaviors, factors influencing HT decisions, use of CAM and perceived efficacy. Chi-square analysis, Spearman Rho correlation, and logistic regression analysis were conducted for contextual factors and vasomotor symptom experiences. A McNemar test was performed to assess within group differences for vasomotor symptoms experiences pre and post HT. Questionnaires were received from 563 menopausal women throughout the United States. This study revealed that 80% of participants experienced vasomotor symptoms after discontinuing HT. The most common predictors which accounted for only 13% of variance in the occurrence of vasomotor symptoms were younger age, type of menopause and the occurrence of vasomotor symptoms prior to initiation of HT. Of the 563 women participating in the study, less than half reported the use of CAM to treat reemerging vasomotor symptoms. For the most part, less than half of the women felt their treatment choices were helpful in relieving their reemerging vasomotor symptoms Because a woman's experience of menopause can be highly individualized, an adaptation of Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory was used guide this exploratory study. The study findings supported the usefulness of the adaptation of Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory as a model through which to view the vasomotor experiences of menopausal women who have discontinued HT. / text

This thesis project explores social constructions of aging women within Women’s Health magazine. There is limited scholarly literature on representations of aging women within popular health/fitness media, such as magazines. The limited current research which does exist suggests that aging women are subjected to negative stereotypes and gendered myths within our societal and cultural values with respect to aging (Vertinsky, 1994). Media representations are strong and pervasive reflections of societal norms and expectations and may impact the way women view themselves. I therefore undertook a Foucaultian discourse analysis of Women’s Health magazine to examine if/how gendered constructions of aging are functioning within representations of health directed to women of all ages. I found that Women’s Health reproduces aging women as useless, failures, problems to be managed, and other to normative femininity. Women’s Health reinforces that aging can and should be managed through the consumption of anti-aging products, procedures, and surgeries endorsed within the magazine. / v, 125 leaves ; 29 cm