Silenced Womb

In Silenced Womb, photographer Petra Kroon explores the (under)representation of menopause in media and arts. The book consists of an exploration of several archives of representations of menopause and ageing women, for example, in stock photography, medical discourses, women’s archives and advertisements. In addition to this critical research on representation, Petra introduces several attempts to dismantle these dominant discourses in a playful way. These attempts unpack stereotypes of the experiences of ‘menopausals’ from the inside out: Attempt I: Find the Cougar, Attempt II: What if? Attempt 3: Presenting your ovaries Attempt IV: When the shit hits the fan.

You can find more information about the book and how you can order it here: https://graduation.kabk.nl/2022/petra-kroon

On this website, you can also find this summary of the book:

In Silenced Womb Petra Kroon examines the age-old taboo surrounding menopause. What does it mean to be systematically silenced for centuries? What effect does it have on how you are represented? How you are treated? And how you behave? She explores these questions from three perspectives: the medical world, society and photography. She investigates what this invisibility looks like, and analyses what it does to her and to her allies. The work also proposes new forms of representation of menopause in order to remove the taboo and encourage her audience to speak more openly about the topic.

You can have a look at the dummy of the book here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im3lxqu_rZE