Joanna Brodzik honestly about menopause: I don't have to be ashamed of it

In the podcast “Wprost about her” Joanna Brodzik, an actress associated with theater, television and film for 25 years, creative producer of the show “Shame on you”, author of the book “Umami. Stories and recipes”, a certified trainer of the first degree of the Trop school, as well as the president of the “Opiekun Zdrowia” foundation, emphasized that she neither hides her age nor tries to lie about it.

She added that she felt a responsibility to speak out loud about the fact that no one should be embarrassed because of their age. She said that she wanted to “break the spell” of maturity, but also of menopause, which she goes through, as a natural part of a woman's life.

When asked if she noticed a change in taming the topic of menopause, which until recently was considered taboo, Joanna Brodzik replied:

– If you allow me to invite you, I will be happy to take you on a short journey to where the phenomenon of menopause shaming came from, what it was or still can be used for and why it is worth saying “no” to it. Reduced to her reproductive function, to her ability to have children, a woman is an extremely effective tool used by patriarchy. It is convenient to reduce our female identity to the usefulness of potential motherhood. After completing this stage, in this system of rules, a woman should disappear, cease to exist, and certainly stop demanding her active presence in the partnership, in the family, in society. She should give way to younger ones who have this reproductive capacity, said the podcast guest.

– I don't want it to sound radical, because I'm not a radical. This is not a burning feminist thought either. This is a bit of a puzzle about what a tool of control is shaming women, also in the area of ​​menopause. If we subtract this element, if we look at a woman's life as stages she goes through, then after childhood, after adolescence, after youth, after maturity to be a mother, there comes a moment when a woman goes through menopause, i.e. she is no longer able to to give birth to a child.

And due to the wonderful development of medicine and healthy habits, good natural cosmetics and a few other factors, he has the rest of his beautiful life ahead of him. Pushing away this shame gives you the opportunity to take full advantage of this fantastic time when being or not being a mother does not become the main priority (…) – she added.

– For me, it is extremely important, important and wonderful that I am a mature woman and going through menopause at a time when I don't have to be ashamed of it. I can talk about it to other women, she emphasized.

– I have such a deep, very deep need to share my sense of belonging to a huge circle of mature women, and this is a wonderful moment in my life. I wouldn't trade it for anything else, especially not teenage acne, she said.

Joanna Brodzik also quoted Alicja Długołęcka's words that “maturity is the time of fruiting, not fading.”