Invisible Transitions: Unequal Menopausal Experiences Among Women in China, Japan, and South Korea

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-509-6_73How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Menopause; Gender Inequality; Patriarchal Norms; Cultural Attitudes; East Asia

Abstract

Menopause is a significant life stage for women, yet it remains stigmatized and misunderstood, especially in East Asian societies. This study investigates the experiences of female menopause in China, Japan, and South Korea during the twenty-first century, focusing on cultural, social, and workplace inequalities. Using a horizontal comparative approach, the research explores how traditional gender roles, patriarchal norms, and cultural attitudes shape menopausal experiences in these countries. In China, menopause is medicalized and stigmatized as a precursor to illness or mental instability, influenced by traditional Chinese medicine and patriarchal family structures. Women often experience emotional isolation, workplace discrimination, and societal pressure to hide their symptoms. In Japan, although the term konenki (renewal years) carries positive connotations, cultural stoicism encourages silent endurance, resulting in limited support from both family and workplace. In South Korea, menopause is regarded as a private issue, leading to workplace discrimination, familial neglect, and low public awareness. The study finds notable commonalities across the three nations, including patriarchal norms that marginalize women's health, widespread silence around menopause, and systemic workplace discrimination. Cultural differences include Japan’s relatively natural view of aging and China’s emphasis on medicalized stigma. The study concludes that combating menopause-related inequality requires comprehensive strategies involving education, public discourse, and policy reforms aimed at challenging traditional gender norms and enhancing support for menopausal women.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Zhijiang Shi
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/15
TI  - Invisible Transitions: Unequal Menopausal Experiences Among Women in China, Japan, and South Korea
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 International Conference on Mental Growth and Human Resilience (MGHR 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 662
EP  - 670
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-509-6_73
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-509-6_73
ID  - Shi2025
ER  -