Yaş, toplumsal cinsiyet ve bedenin kesişimselliği: Eğitimli kadınların menopoz deneyimleri üzerine bir vaka çalışması

In our contemporary world, the definition of biomedical aging is the dominant and widespread discourse in the construction of age identity. The biomedical model sees menopause as a starting point for the aging process of women. The aging process is based on the body, which loses its functionality and begins to decline. In that sense, the decreasing hormone levels during menopause make women more vulnerable as a biological destiny. However, recent research claims that menopause experiences are not universal and that culture is highly influential in differentiating experiences. In that context, this study tries to understand the sociocultural structure of menopause by considering the biomedical model. The study aims to reveal the menopause experiences of women without referring to biological and cultural determinism. Thus, intersectionality theory enables us to understand how aging, body, and gender intersect and dynamically construct menopausal experiences. In this study, which methodologically focuses on women's experiences, feminist methodology and life course approach were used, and in-depth interviews were conducted with 24 educated women from different provinces of Turkey.