FROM REPRODUCTIVE CESSATION TO DIAGNOSIS: THE PATHOLOGIZATION AND MEDICALIZATION OF MENOPAUSE

Abstract

Based on the interaction between biological and cultural aspects, medicine has produced different interpretations of the female body over time, with a strong focus on reproductive capacity. With the increasing longevity, which allows women to live a good portion of their lives after the cessation of ovarian function, medical knowledge has also turned its attention to climacteric and menopause, transforming their characteristics, previously seen as inherent to aging, into symptoms of a disease that, as such, requires intervention. This article aims to articulate, through a narrative literature review, the classic debates on medicalization and contemporary works that problematize the intersections between body, gender, and health, with an emphasis on menopause. The analysis highlights that reproductive cessation has been appropriated by medical language, transforming it from a biological event into a pathological condition, marked by narratives of failure and loss.