Intimate Neoliberal Violence and Ungrievable Meno Bodies

In this article, we investigate the journey of the patient-author when hysterectomy is advised after the diagnosis of a benign uterine fibroid. Findings from our collaborative autoethnography show how meno bodies are subjected to ambiguous risk categorisation, inadequate information, coercive practices, and dehumanisation under the clinical gaze. Our work theorises the concept of intimate violence on perimenopausal woman. We illustrate how intimate violence is different from the indignity of obstetric violence on women birthing children. The neoliberal healthcare system fosters feelings of powerlessness by offering the illusion of control while framing menopause as a medical condition that necessitates consumption of reproductive care services. We highlight the personal, emotional, psychological, and bodily harms inflicted on perimenopausal women within neoliberal healthcare systems characterised by a gendered, ageist agenda.