Menopause Café
A Menopause Café is a scheduled, non-profit get-together for the purpose of talking about menopause over tea and cake.[1] The first Menopause Café was held in Perth, Scotland and was the idea of Rachel Weiss, a counsellor and social entrepreneur. They have since been held in many countries, creating a worldwide movement.[2]
The cafés are based on the ethos of the Death Cafe, and are called "social franchises" by the Death Cafe organisers.[3] The Death Café originated with the Swiss sociologist and anthropologist Bernard Crettaz, who organised the first café mortel in 2004. Jon Underwood, a UK web developer inspired by Crettaz's work, introduced the Death Cafe to London in 2011 and they have since been held in countries around the world.[4]
Weiss had hosted a Death Cafe in Perth and was inspired by this model to create a similar informal talking space for the menopause, which has since similarly spread around the world.[5] The first menopause café took place in June 2017.[3]
Format and purpose
[edit]The Menopause Café is not a physical location but an event, usually lasting two hours. Participants are free to discuss their understanding, thoughts, dreams, fears and any other aspects of menopause and living with menopause. Tea and cake assist with creating a supportive environment. Some Menopause Cafes have specifically created an opportunity for health-care professionals to talk about the menopause. Venues are usually cafés but they can also take place in workplace settings.[6]
Scottish journalist and TV presenter, Kirsty Wark, who is patron of the Menopause Café charity, has said "We just want to create a space for both male and female participants of all ages ...to come together to simply open up and share their experience."[7]
History
[edit]Crettaz organized the first café mortel in 2004 in Neuchâtel and in 2010 brought the idea to Paris.[8] He published a book titled Cafés Mortels: Sortir la Mort du Silence (Death Cafes: Bringing Death out of Silence).[9] In 2011, inspired by Crettaz and with his guidance, Underwood held the first London Death Café at his home. He subsequently developed the Death Café website, generating guidelines with his mother, psychotherapist Susan Barsky Reid, and the concept took off globally.
At the age of 50, Rachel Weiss saw a BBC programme The Menopause and Me (broadcast on BBC, 20 April 2017) presented by Kirsty Wark. Having already hosted a Death Café, she was inspired to create a similar space for people to talk about the menopause using the same model. The first café took place in Blend Coffee Lounge, Perth in June 2017. There are now Menopause Café events across the world, including Scotland, Wales, Ireland, England, Canada, Netherlands, Dubai, Bahrain, Austria, Mexico, Barbados, Australia, Berlin, the USA, and Zambia.[3][10]
The Menopause Café became a charity registered in Scotland in 2018. The charity has created a pink and purple ribbon to raise awareness of menopause.[11] Organisers want employers, workmates and the general public to wear one of the pink and purple symbols to show they are open to conversations about the menopause. Perth and Kinross Council was one of the first employers to sign up to the Menopause Café campaign.[12]
The charity also organises an annual menopause festival called #FlushFest.[13][14][15][16]
Patron
[edit]Kirsty Wark, whose programme The Menopause and Me was the inspiration for Weiss to create the Menopause Café, is now the patron of the Menopause Café charity.[17][18]
Response
[edit]More than 2000 people have taken part in 250+ Menopause Café events in the UK and around the world since the first one in 2017.[19] Feedback from participants suggests that women experiencing menopausal symptoms and struggling to talk openly about it is a universal experience. "There's a stigma around it," says founder Weiss. "Being an older woman is not viewed as a positive thing in our society."[6] Weiss hopes that the cafés will help menopause become an acceptable topic of conversation.[20]
In a study into the wellbeing of perimenopausal women (Ray et al, 2023), a participant described their positive experience of a menopause café at their workplace.[21]
Awards and recognition
[edit]Weiss received the Prime Minister's Points of Light Award in 2018 for founding the Menopause Café.[22]
References
[edit]- ^ Weiss, Rachel (2020-02-01). "Menopause Cafés: It's good to talk". Maturitas. 132: 79–80. doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2019.09.002. ISSN 0378-5122. PMID 31558342.
- ^ "Meet the Woman Behind the Stigma-Breaking 'Menopause Cafe': 'Why Does Nobody Talk About This?'". People.com. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
- ^ a b c McElhone, Nora (2024-10-11). "Perth's Rachel Weiss on how she broke the age-old taboo around the menopause". The Courier. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
- ^ "What is Death Cafe". deathcafe.com. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
- ^ Brooks, Libby (2018-04-01). "Welcome to the Menopause Cafe: 'Now I know I'm not alone. I'm not going mad'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
- ^ a b Kale, Sirin (2021-08-17). "'My bosses were happy to destroy me' – the women forced out of work by menopause". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
- ^ "Virtual menopause cafè created to support women during COVID-19 | Charity Today News". 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
- ^ "Never say die? Far from it in Paris death café". The Independent. 2010-11-01. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
- ^ "ISBN 9782830913903". isbnsearch.org. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
- ^ "Menopause Cafe (Northampton Central)". Northampton Chronicle and Echo. 2024-02-08. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
- ^ Lindsay, Morag (2024-10-01). "Perth-based charity ribbon makes menopause a talking point". The Courier. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
- ^ "Elected Member Briefing - Menopause Workplace Pledge". Perth & Kinross Council. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
- ^ Lindsay, Caroline (2018-06-09). "Menopause Festival makes the most of one of Mother Nature's less welcome gifts". The Courier. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
- ^ Donaghey, Dawn (2021-04-25). "The Davina effect: Perth woman started worldwide menopause movement after watching TV". The Courier. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
- ^ Diouri, Anita (2021-03-17). "'Break the taboo': 2021 menopause festival goes online after 2020 cancellation". The Courier. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
- ^ Forrester, Cara (2022-05-22). "'It's time to reduce the shame': Perth menopause festival welcomes Nicola Sturgeon to line up". The Courier. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
- ^ "Our Patron". www.menopausecafe.net. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
- ^ Cartwright, Ruth (2012). "TV documentary is heartfelt and inspirational viewing". Nursing Standard. 26 (24): 32. doi:10.7748/ns2012.02.26.24.32.p7577. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
- ^ "Gather to eat cake, drink and discuss menopause". www.menopausecafe.net. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
- ^ "ALUMNI STORIES: 'I HOPE THE MENOPAUSE WILL BECOME AN ACCEPTABLE TOPIC OF CONVERSATION'". www.alumni.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
- ^ Ray, Elizabeth; Maybin, Jacqueline A; Harper, Joyce C (2023-12-01). "Perimenopausal women's voices: How does their period at the end of reproductive life affect wellbeing?". Post Reproductive Health. 29 (4): 201–221. doi:10.1177/20533691231216162. ISSN 2053-3691. PMC 10704889. PMID 37984554.
- ^ McBride, Jake (2018-08-12). "Menopause Cafe". Points of Light. Retrieved 2025-03-25.