Metaphors help to explain the unknown and can make an experience easier to understand for people who have not had similar experiences. The three stories by Dan, Dr. Bennett and Sarah use many metaphor and I have selected a few of the most interesting ones to comment on here. 

​

Dan and Dr. Bennett resist the idea that menstruation defines femininity (in Dan’s words) or womanhood (in Dr. Bennett’s words). The fact that they both feel the need to state this indicate that there is a cultural perception that menstruation is a prerequisite for being a woman. That perception leaves a vacuum for the post-menopausal woman as well as women who do not menstruate for other reasons. 

​

Dan uses metaphor to describe his relationship to menstruation and his body. The reproductive system feels like an ‘alien’, which conveys the idea that it is strange and perhaps doesn’t belong. The representation of menstruation is more hostile as it feels like a ‘betrayal’ performed by the body against the self. This metaphor attributes negative intentions to the body, which portrays the body like a person who can be deceitful. This split between the self and the body is also evident when Dan describes bodily processes as not ‘aligned with my sense of self’. 

​

It is common in our culture to describe body and mind as separate and similar metaphors are prevalent in healthcare discourse. Indeed it is common to talk about physical versus mental health as two separate parts of being human. 

Dan elaborates the conflict at a social level in terms of ‘webs’ that ‘links’ gender stereotypes with trans people’s bodies. These ‘webs’ are described as ‘tangled’ and hard to ‘escape’. This conveys a sense of restriction, they ‘entrap’ transgender people causing this conflict between menstruation and the body.

​

Sarah describes a more calm relation her menstruation as ‘my month cycle’ which is a conventional metaphor that foregrounds the patterns of menstrual cycles. Before she started treatment for hormonal receptive breast cancer, she had ‘regular’ and ‘normal monthly’ cycles. After her periods almost stopped, she has experienced anxiety because of the unpredictability of her periods. In other words, periods for her is a sign that her body is working as it should, and no longer having them induces unpleasant emotions. 

​

Dr. Bennett mentions the conventional ‘journey’ metaphor six times. Menopause is constructed as a ‘journey’ in itself but also as part of the ‘journey of my life’. Another ‘journey’ is finding ways to deal with menopause. This metaphor is able to contain both positive and negative experiences. 

​

Part of Dr. Bennett’s experience is that she changes her attitude to medication for menopause. After resisting medication, she describes how she ‘succumbed’ to the hormone coil. This is a very strong term often used in the context of people dying from an illness, e.g. ‘they succumbed to cancer.’ This constructs the coil as a strong force and her change in attitude towards it as surrendering. She follows this with a confession, which further indicates reluctance, that she has not ‘looked back’. This is a conventional way of saying that she kept on with a coil and this metaphor fits well with the ‘journey’ metaphor.

​

The three stories use metaphor to describe their relation to various aspects of menstruation, menopause, hormone replacement and being a woman. The metaphors reveal a lot about how they feel and think about these topics.