Posting something a little more vulnerable this time to see if it resonates. In honor of me, Becca Williams, being one and the same as the Menopausey brand for now, which has come up in a couple of different conversations lately, I figured I’d share a little bit more of myself.
A new to me, thrifted pair of jeans arrived last night. The material isn’t stretchy, though it’s a bit of a stretch-y to get my middle portion to fit into them. 🙂
They’re maybe a little less flattering than they could be. But I love them anyway.
They accentuate the pooch, for better and worse better. For better in that this pooch carried two babies to term 13 and 11 years ago (who continue to develop into more and more amazing humans), and two more pregnancies that didn’t make it past the first trimester before that. (I’ll write about the parallels between talking about miscarriage and [peri]menopause another time.)
Back to the other for better. For better in that I’m learning to accept how all.the.things are changing.
It’s OK to celebrate this body and its shifts, as it shifts.
The current narrative around perimenopause and menopause is so doom and gloom. I’m so done with that. (I’m tracking headlines, in fact, on this page, with a running RSS feed. Check out for yourself what’s bubbling up on a page that refreshes every two hours.)
What’s Happening With The Pooch?
University of Maryland Medical System writes, “During perimenopause, fat is redistributed in the body. Even if you’ve always been more likely to carry weight in your bottom, hips or thighs, during perimenopause, fat will begin to move to your belly. This is also caused by those dropping estrogen and stable testosterone levels.”
And you can read more in Vogue’s “Why “Meno Belly” Is a Menopausal Change We Should Embrace” FIORELLA VALDESOLO.
“Eating healthy and remaining active throughout the menopause transition are vitally important, but so too is a certain amount of radical acceptance. Part of that acceptance is related to the impact gravity and time will inevitably have on our faces and hair and bodies. The dress that you wore and loved in your twenties may not fit anymore and, if it does, it likely hits very differently—which is, repeat after me, perfectly normal. And just like that, you embrace a bit of belly and you move on.”
YESSSSS to Fiorella for highlighting the importance of “radical acceptance.” I love this.
Let’s normalize and celebrate these bodily shifts that come with history.
Love,
Becca and her belly
(This header image was not AI-generated, is not a stock photo, and is, in fact, my real belly.)
Here’s the full photo:
And just as a bonus if you made it to the bottom, here is the alt text ChatGPT generated for me:
“This is a black and white image focusing on a person’s midsection wearing denim jeans. The jeans are buttoned, and the button is in clear focus at the center of the image. The denim fabric has a textured appearance with visible stitching lines, suggesting a close-up shot. The image captures the nuances of the denim fabric and the roundness of the belly beneath, creating a sense of everyday realism.“
At least it was kind with its wording, “roundness of the belly” and “everyday realism.”
