HHH Column: Feminine Forever vs. “the way to a new life phase” – menopause in the 1960s
The HHH column is a monthly blog in which History, Health & Healing members share their thoughts on research, current affairs, or anything to do with medical history. Each edition is written by a different member — in due time, we hope to offer everybody a chance to publish a contribution. This month, the floor is for Hanneke de Boer PhD candidate at the University of Groningen in the Menopausal Fears project. In this blog, Hanneke explores the view of gynaecologists on menopause during the 1960s.
Feminine Forever vs. “the way to a new life phase” – menopause in the 1960s
By Hanneke de Boer
When studying the medical history of the menopause in the twentieth century, it is almost impossible not to encounter Robert Wilson, an American gynaecologist. American historiography credits Wilson with popularising hormone therapy for menopause and significantly contributing to the medicalisation of menopause by advocating for long term hormone therapy, from puberty to the grave. Wilson did this by writing Feminine Forever (1966), which was aimed at a general audience, and through articles in the popular press. In the Netherlands, Wilson’s ideas had limited impact. While his book was translated into Dutch (Vrouw zijn en blijven, 1966), and his work was discussed in Dutch medical journals, women’s magazines and the national press, the idea of long-term hormone therapy did not catch on. One source that provides insight into the Dutch view on menopause is another book aimed at the general public: Op weg naar een nieuwe levensfase. Voorlichting over de overgangsjaren[1] (1968) by Laszlo Jaszmann, a Dutch gynaecologist.
In several passages in his book, Jaszmann explicitly turned against Wilson’s ideas. According to Wilson, menopause was a hormone deficiency disease, similar to diabetes.[2] Wilson’s main issues with menopause were the supposed reduction of femininity and health due to the decrease in oestrogen. Menstruation played a key-role in this process, which Wilson saw as proof of femininity, youthfulness, and health. The onset of menopause would, in Wilson’s words, turn women into castrates, who age rapidly and detrimentally, and who would almost unavoidably develop osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseases.[3] Wilson’s proposed solution was to supply all women with oestrogen for as long as they lived. Only this would ensure they could keep their femininity and health for the rest of their lives.[4]
On the contrary, Jaszmann argued that “menstruation and staying ‘young’ have little to do with each other.”[5] He doubted the scientific proof and necessity of supplying all women with oestrogen after menopause to prevent osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseases.[6] But most importantly, he characterised the menopause as a natural life phase, rather than a pathological condition. The life phase rhetoric was also present in newspapers and women’s magazines, like Margriet. It is a strongly normative and prescriptive rhetoric, which was closely linked to what was expected of women at the age of menopause. In addition, the possibility that complaints could be severe was downplayed and there was a strong focus on women’s individual responsibility for managing menopause.
Jaszmann emphasised that most women did not have any severe complaints during menopause, but those that did should be aware that much of the menopausal experience was due to their own psychological attitude. Women who feared aging, losing their physical beauty, or being unable to carry out their daily tasks could get depressed and begin to appear worn and tired. Jaszmann argued that depression during menopause was caused by autosuggestion or suggestion by others.[7] Weak nerves and emotional lability were important factors in determining whether women would have a difficult time or not.[8]
While Wilson presented oestrogen as a life elixir, which would supply youth and beauty to women forever, Jaszmann explicitly positioned himself against this point of view. However, he was not fully against hormone therapy as a treatment for menopausal symptoms.[9] Jaszmann went on to say that he did not want to describe and advise on specific treatment methods in the popular press or in books, but he did want to offer some guidance on what women could do themselves.[10] The main tenet of his recommendations was that women could influence the severity of their menopausal experience by having a positive attitude and not dwelling on the negative aspects. “The less it is talked about, the better.”[11] Women with a strong character would experience less problems than women with a weaker character. Moreover, women should not dwell on the past or compare themselves to younger people. Jaszmann did not want to promote working ‘outside the house’ as a solution, but he did think that ‘keeping busy’ was beneficial to the menopausal transition. The daily grind of a housewife could become tiring, especially when combined with the fact that the children had left home.[12]
Jaszmann also offered some recommendations on how women could manage their weight during menopause, how they should dress, take care of their skin and hair, how to manage hygiene during menstruation, and how to handle sexual relations with their husbands. I will spare the reader the full details of Jaszmann’s opinions, as they are to husbands’ benefit rather than women going through menopause: “The wife – that takes a shower, fixes herself up and puts on a dress before the husband comes home, has understood it”.[13] Wilson had incredibly similar opinions.[14] Telling women how to behave, dress and do their make-up and hair does not seem to be connected to different opinions on menopause but to something more fundamental. These pieces of advice were intended to help women feel good about themselves during menopause For Wilson this was immediately tied to being sexually desirable to men. Jaszmann does not state this overtly, but he does suggest that maintaining a satisfactory sex life during menopause is closely related to clothes and presentation.[15]
In short, Jaszmann did not think severe menopausal complaints were common. For women who did experience severe symptoms Jaszmann placed significant blame on their mental attitudes. While he was not enthusiastic about hormone therapy as a solution to menopausal complaints, he was not opposed to it either. However, he preferred ‘lifestyle advice’ which had a strongly normative, prescriptive and disciplining character. This is in line with other sources from the time, in which women were advised to not be ‘sad’, to continue taking care of their looks, and to invest in hobbies outside of the home.[16] While femininity and menopause were not seen as a purely hormonal affair in the Netherlands, how well you performed an ideal model of womanhood was assumed to impact how “easy” your menopausal transition would be.
[1] English translation: On the way to a new lifephase. Information about the menopause.
[2] Robert Wilson, Feminine Forever (New York: M. Evans and Co., 1966), 18-19.
[3] Wilson, 25, 40-43, 96.
[4] Wilson, 53, 56.
[5] Laszlo Jaszmann, Op weg naar een nieuwe levensfase. Voorlichting over de overgangsjaren (Arnhem: Van Loghum Slaterus, 1968), 66.
[6] Jaszmann, 89-91.
[7] Jaszmann, 77.
[8] Jaszmann, 79.
[9] Jaszmann, 143.
[10] Jaszmann, 156.
[11] Jaszmann, 157.
[12] Jaszmann, 176.
[13] Jaszmann, 226. Original Dutch: “De vrouw, die na een inspannende dag een douche neemt, zich opknapt, een schone jurk aantrekt vóór de man thuiskomt, heeft het begrepen.”
[14] See, for instance: Wilson, 150.
[15] Jaszmann, 226.
[16] See forthcoming publication Hanneke E.H. de Boer, “Geef uzelf geen kans u zielig te voelen” De Nederlandse omgang met menopauze in de jaren zestig”, Historica, vol. 48, nr. 3, (Oct. 2025).