Emma Barnett has said experiencing perimenopause at the age of 38 felt as if she had been “mugged, robbed” of her identity.
The broadcaster, now 40, said on her new BBC podcast, Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, that it was the “first time in my life I haven’t really wanted to be a woman – it’s the first time I’ve thought, I’d really quite like to be a bloke”.
She said perimenopause made her feel as though she had lost her identity, and that she was still waiting to “come back” to who she was before.
Speaking to guest Kate Thornton, she said: “I do feel there has been a theft. I do feel there’s no emergency number to call. ‘I’d like to report a crime. Yeah, someone stole me.’ There is no one to report this to.”
Concluding the episode, Barnett said she hoped “the normalisation – which we both said needs to happen around perimenopause and this degradation of one’s hormones that happens from … the age of 30s right through in women – can move into common parlance”.
Perimenopause is the transitional period leading up to menopause, where ovaries gradually produce less oestrogen, causing symptoms such as irregular periods and hot flushes, while menopause is the definitive point after periods have stopped for 12 consecutive months.
Conversations and awareness about menopause and perimenopause have increased significantly in recent years, in part thanks to the work of high-profile figures, such as the broadcaster Davina McCall and the comedian Bridget Christie.
But the increased knowledge has been coupled with what health experts have called a “menopause gold rush”, as companies, celebrities and influencers take advantage of a “dearth” of reliable information on the issue.
Women’s health academics at University College London have said healthcare companies and content creators viewed menopause as a “lucrative market” and were trying to profit from gaps in public understanding.
Researchers have called for the rollout of a national education programme after finding a significant number of women do not feel well-informed about menopause.
Writing in the medical journal Post Reproductive Health, they said: “There has been a rapid expansion in unregulated private companies and individuals providing menopause information and support for profit; this has been termed the ‘menopause gold rush’.”
