Menopause Club NB! Exclusive
Humans, alongside four toothed whales – the orca, beluga, narwhal and shortfinned pilot whale – are known to be the only species from 8.7 million species to have the menopausal phenotype, the long, average, 20-year period between female reproductive life and the end of life.
Menopause is thought to be a cultural rather than a biological phenomenon. Patriarchal society’s attitudes towards menopause and older women are well summed up by the Bank of England Vice President’s 2018 commentary on the economy at the time, describing it as menopausal, meaning “outdated and without potential “. Both natural and medical menopause (after the surgical removal of reproductive organs) can also be seen as a rebellion against the rules of evolution. According to the theory of evolution, the purpose of the existence of an individual is to reproduce the species.
The site-specific installation Menopause Club NB! Exclusive is inspired by the few species which experience this biological phenomenon and its associated cultural stigma.