Menopause festival Scotland: Breaking the silence on menopause at Scotland's Flush Fest 2023

The organisers of this year’s menopause festival want to open up honest conversations about this stage of life

The organisers of Scotland’s Menopause Festival say they want to normalise this stage of life, rather than silencing or sensationalising it.

Flush Fest 2023 will be taking place in Edinburgh in September, with speakers, events and workshops designed to open up honest conversations about the menopause.

This year’s festival will be opened by Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon, who will be talking about her work to bring in free period products in Scotland, and how important access to period products is for those experiencing the menopause.

The organisers of a previous year's menopause festival.

There will also be workshops on sleep support, nutrition, sexual desire, neurodivergence and the menopause, and how to manage menopausal symptoms.

One of the organisers of this year’s event is Rachel Weiss, who set up the world’s first menopause café in Perth. The pop-up cafe offers a safe space for people to talk about their experiences, and the idea has now spread all over the world.

Weiss said: “The UK is leading the way in breaking the silence around the menopause. Scotland, in particular, leads the way with free period products. It is home to the menopause cafe, we have new workplace standards, and it is now in the school curriculum.

“It seems to be something we are good at.”

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon with organisers of the menopause festival. Image: Andy Sanwell.

In recent years a number of high-profile women have spoken openly about their experiences of the menopause, including Michelle Obama, Davina McCall, Gwyneth Paltrow and Oprah Winfrey.

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon also spoke about her personal anxieties around menopause during an appearance on ITV’s Loose Women last year.

Weiss said she wanted to make sure these conversations don’t become “scaremongering”, saying this could lead to people giving up opportunities or could make employers nervous about hiring women in their 40s and 50s.

She said: “Before all of this, no one spoke about the menopause because it was seen as shameful. We were told to put up and shut up, or we had people sharing menopausal horror stories.

Rachel Weiss with her partner Andy Sanwell.

“I want to normalise it rather than silencing it or sensationalising it.”

Weiss added: “We need to reclaim being an older woman and reclaim words like ‘hag’, ‘crone’ and ‘witch’ – we want to show people it can be fun being an older woman. We should be celebrating this stage of life and this tricky transition.”

One of the themes of this year’s event will be helping to support people whose partners are going through the menopause.

Best-selling crime author Val McDermid and her partner Jo Sharp will be holding a discussion about their experiences of living with someone going through the menopause. There will also be a dedicated workshop for men, to help them understand and learn about how to support a menopausal partner.

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon and Rachel Weiss with members of the Perth Menopause Cafe. Image: Andy Sanwell.

Flush Fest 2023 will take place on September 8 and 9 at St Paul's and St George's Church (Ps&Gs) in Edinburgh.

Tickets cost £56, but the event will also be livestreamed online. Online tickets cost £26, and there are options to pay what you can afford or pay it forward.