"A part of being a woman, really”: menopause at work as ‘dirty’ femininity

This research extends understandings of women’s lived experiences of menopause at work, as embodied complex gendered ageing. Menopause as a type of ‘dirty’ femininity and femme performance is theorised to elucidate both the stigmatising effects of menopause at work and the opportunity to reclaim femininity in-and-for itself. This theory is illustrated through the accounts of women experiencing menopause at work. Menopause at work is problematised, pathologised, and ‘dirty’ as an embodied experience that is physically, emotionally, morally, and socially tainted. As ‘dirty’ femininity, menopause represents both material ‘dirt’ (leaky bodies) and symbolic ‘dirt’ (no longer leaky and no longer fertile), thereby eroding women’s ability to perform patriarchal hegemonic femininity. Small pockets of resistance are also observed as some of these women engage in femme performances in defiance of hegemonic masculinity. The article offers avenues for future research in shame, taint management, women in leadership, and intersectionality to extend the conceptual and empirical contributions on menopause at work.