The Fountain of Youth at 60

60 Years of the Fountain of Youth tells the story of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), which shot into the public consciousness in 1966 with the publication of Dr Robert A Wilson’s hit book Feminine Forever.

Feminine Forever pitched Premarin (made from the urine of pregnant mares) as a boon for husbands frustrated by the loss of their formerly sweet, sexual wives. And it presented a new generation of women with a solution to the ‘disease of menopause’.

But in the following decades, the story of menopause has been rocky - and much of it is captured in the media. Today, increased life expectancy means that women live around a third of their lives post menopause, so is it long past time to consign Feminine Forever to the flames of menopausal rage and think differently about this powerful transition?

Blending medical history, folklore, psychology, feminism and anthropology, comedian, writer and broadcaster Angela Barnes takes a frank, funny and sometimes incredulous look at the changing global menopause trends of the last 60 years - from the outrageous male focused Premarin commercials, to the misunderstood 1991 Women’s Health Initiative study which effectively stopped the treatment (and teaching) of menopause, to today’s army of brands cashing in on “Generation M”.

The desire - or pressure - to mask menopause, and the use of HRT has been a hot topic for feminist discussion in fiction and non-fiction for over 60 years. We revisit one of the key voices of the sexual revolution generation - Germaine Greer.

Angela meets folklorist and psychologist Sharon Blackie, author of Hagitude to learn how ancient myth contains some of the most powerful models for the menopausal woman. Renowned OBGYN Professor Mary Jane Minkin remembers where she was the day the Women’s Health Study was released, and thousands of women suddenly stopped their HRT, and journalist Ann Neumann explores menopause from a feminist perspective.

Through archive and newly recorded interviews, Angela learns how women are reaching deeper levels of creativity, exploring feminine identity through decades and cultures, and steering the transfer of power from the male led medical establishment to women far more concerned with new found freedom to care about their perceived sexual allure.

Presenter - Angela Barnes
Producer - Freya Hellier
Executive Producer - Sandra Kanthal
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4