2025 was the year menopause took the mic. It broke into prime-time TV, dominated social feeds, and showed up in congressional hearings, legislation, and HR manuals. And as hot flashes took center stage, so did women’s power
It was the kind of spotlight women’s health rarely gets: cultural, political, scientific, and deeply personal. After decades of silence, menopause became a movement—one that demanded better science, better care, and better jokes
The shift wasn’t subtle. The FDA reversed outdated warnings. States passed workplace protections. Comedians turned night sweats into punchlines and packed theaters with women who finally felt seen. And the 1.3 million American women who enter menopause each year finally found their experiences reflected—in headlines, in policy, and in each other. 1
Here are 11 moments that prove menopause went mainstream in 2025
After two decades of fear-mongering labels, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) finally got its redemption arc. In November, the FDA removed black-box warnings from hormone therapy that had linked them to heart disease and breast cancer—cautions born from misinterpreted data from the Women’s Health Initiative that scared an entire generation out of treatment. 2
“This is a very big deal,” says integrated health physician and hormone specialist Natalie Kunsman, M.D. “Those older warnings made it seem as though all hormone therapy carried the same risks. Since then, research has shown that risks and benefits are not one size fits all.”
The label removal is a starting—not finish—line. Clinician training needs to catch up, and clinical guidelines have to be updated. But for women who have spent years fighting for better care, it was a giant leap in the right direction
Menopause symptoms cost the U.S. an estimated $1.8 billion in lost work time each year —and yet women are still expected to power through board meetings and budget calls while quietly melting from the inside out
That finally started to shift in 2025. In June, Rhode Island became the first state to require workplace accommodations for women in menopause, such as flexible scheduling to manage fatigue or sleep disturbances and access to temperature-controlled environments for hot flashes. That tiny spark set off a fire: HR teams across the country updated policies for menopause in the workplace, and New York introduced a bill package targeting insurance coverage, workplace discrimination, and menopause education.4
Progress, one thermostat at a time
Only 6.8 percent of providers feel prepared to care for menopausal patients5—which helps explain why so many women leave appointments feeling brushed off, misdiagnosed, or told to “just deal with it.”
In mid-2025, the Menopause Society launched NextGen Now, a $10 million initiative aimed at fixing that. The program will train 25,000 clinicians in menopause care over the next three years. 6 The goal: make sure the next time a woman shows up describing brain fog, hot flashes, or a libido that’s gone MIA, her doctor actually knows what to do
Move over, Boomers and GenX. A February 2025 study found that more than half of women aged 30–35 reported moderate to severe menopause-like symptoms. The findings challenge long-held assumptions about when hormonal shifts begin and reinforce what many women have been saying for years
“Many symptoms—mood changes, fatigue, cognitive complaints—are common even in late reproductive years,” says Shelly Chvotzkin, D.O., a board-certified OB-GYN specializing in women’s hormone health and menopause. “And the boundaries between premenopause, perimenopause, and menopause are often blurred.”
Her message: Clinicians need to think beyond the 50-plus crowd
When Oprah talks, the world listens—and this time, she was talking hot flashes, heart palpitations, and brain fog. The Menopause Revolution, her prime-time special (later streaming on Hulu and Disney+), featured Halle Berry talking about her libido, Naomi Watts sharing her fears about revealing her estrogen patch before sleeping with her partner, and a panel of experts dead-set on setting the record straight about menopause.
For 60 minutes, millions of viewers saw menopause treated not as a crisis, but as a conversation. “High-profile figures sharing their experiences have helped bring menopause out of the shadows,” Chvotzkin says. The cultural effect: group-chat jokes turned into doctor’s-office questions, and women who’d felt dismissed suddenly had language—and backup—to demand the care they deserve
The “You get an estrogen patch! And you get an estrogen patch!” moment didn’t happen—but the cultural reset sure did
Actress Halle Berry told the world she’d spent years bewildered by symptoms she didn’t realize were menopause. She took her frustration to Congress to lobby for research funds. At a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol, she famously bellowed, “I’m in menopause!”, instantly turning a press conference into a cultural flashpoint.8 That burst of honesty helped push menopause research funding into the national conversation.
From celebrity-backed supplement lines to venture capital-funded clinics, 2025 was the year menopause officially became a mainstream economic story. Analysts projected the U.S. “menopause market” could surpass $20 billion by 2030, forcing investors—and the media—to take women’s midlife health seriously as both a medical and financial frontier.9
Melani Sanders turned perimenopause into a comedic uprising. 10 With reading glasses perched everywhere and zero filter, she founded the “We Do Not Care Club,” a social media phenomenon celebrating women who’ve outgrown pretending
Just a few things she and other women don’t care about anymore?
“We do not care if we have fingerprints on our glasses. We can still see.”“We do not care if we hurt the younger generation’s feelings. We said what we said.”12“We do not care about having cellulite in short shorts; listen, legs is legs.”13
Her followers ballooned… and she inked a book deal.14
“Comedians and influencers who are creating community spaces online are helping to normalize the conversation,” Kunsman says. “Social media has given women spaces to connect, laugh, and realize they aren’t alone.”
Somewhere between Pilates reformers and pickleball paddles, midlife women discovered a new accessory: the weighted vest. These 10-pound fashion statements became the suburban badge of “I’m protecting the bone loss that happens in menopause.”
The science isn’t quite as heavy as the gear. Early studies show small gains in bone mineral density, but resistance training still wins for building strength and preventing fractures
Still, when mobs of women are power-walking through their neighborhoods in gear once reserved for CrossFit die-hards, you know: bone health has officially gone viral
Only the internet could take the hormonal chaos of perimenopause and brand it as something you might actually want merch for. Enter Cougar Puberty—the viral term that turned midlife mood swings, sweats, and stray chin hairs into content gold. TikTok creators and influencers ran with it, doing skits about teenage-level hormones and adult responsibilities, and by spring, Good Morning America was covering it. 16
Comedian Kristina Kuzmic delivered the genre’s magnum opus: a tween boy in a fluffy bathrobe is seated at a kitchen table, clutching his coffee cup, sighing, “I knew this day would come. I just didn’t think it would happen this fast.” He discusses his mother’s new facial hair, her changing body size, her sudden sweatiness, and sudden mood shifts. “One second, she’s totally fine,” he confides. “The next, she’s crying because we’re out of cheese.” Millions felt seen.
In 2025, the telehealth platform known for helping men balance testosterone and longevity metrics expanded into women’s care. The new program lets women complete at-home biomarker testing, meet virtually with licensed physicians, and get tailored treatment plans for menopause, weight management, thyroid support, and sexual wellness. Hone Health is now one of the largest providers of testosterone for women, offering prescriptions in 35 U.S. states.
At a time when everyone was talking about menopause, Hone gave women a way to actually do something about it—a lab slip and a video call that could change how midlife feels
Peacock, Kimberly et al. for the NIH (2023) Menopause
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U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (2025) FDA initiates removal of “Black Box” warnings from menopausal hormone replacement therapy products
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Spectrum News Staff (2025)New York bills addressing menopause introduced in the Assembly
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Kling, Juliana M et al (2019) Menopause Management Knowledge in Postgraduate Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Obstetrics and Gynecology Residents: A Cross-Sectional Survey
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The Menopause Society (2025)The Menopause Society to Launch NextGen Now Initiative to Transform Menopause Training
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Superville, Darlene (2025)Halle Berry shouts from the Capitol, ‘I’m in menopause’ as she seeks to end a stigma and win funding
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Reed, Sara et al. (2025)Rising menopause market captures generational turn
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Sanders, Melani (2024)Instagram profile: justbeingmelani
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Sanders, Melani (2025)Instagram Reel
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Sanders, Melani (2025) Instagram Reel
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Sanders, Melani (2025)The Official We Do Not Care Club Handbook
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ABC News (2025)Halle Berry and doctors talk stages and symptoms of menopause
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