Mona Eltahawy on shame and shamelessness, why the patriarchy hates it when we stop giving a f*ck, and diversifying menopause stories

Join me as I talk to Mona Eltahawy, journalist, activist and author. (Note that there is liberal use of the F word throughout - as Mona herself proclaims, profanity is one of the ways she claims her power!)  We discuss her last book "The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls" - including why it is so critical we stop teaching girls to express anger. Here's one of my favourite quotes from the book: “What if we nurtured and encouraged the expression of anger in girls the same way we encourage reading skills: as necessary for their navigation of the world? What if we believed that, just as reading and writing help a girl to understand the world around her and to express herself within it, expressing her anger was also a necessary tool for a girl making her way through life.” We then move on to talk about the anthology she is currently working on entitled "Bloody Hell! And Other Stories: Adventures in Menopause from Across the Personal and Political Spectrum" a much needed lens on a subject where many of the voices we hear are White, Western, and straight. We cover Mona's own disbelief at how unprepared she was for perimenopause, why global, and gender-expansive voices and stories are so important, and why the patriarchy really (really) hates it when older women discover their power and become shameless...and how it tries to silence and shame us all the more. Oh...and why we all talk about moisturising our faces...but heaven forbid we should talk about moisturising our v@ginas! Mona's anthology will be published by crowdfunding publisher Unbound and you can find out more and pre-order a copy at https://unbound.com/books/bloody-hell-and-other-stories/ You can find Mona on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/monaeltahawy/ Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com   It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love! You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training.