Wesley,

Thanks for your interesting and thought-provoking discussion of the idea of "male menopause." I am glad you pointed out the differences in the pace of the hormonal changes in women and men (sharp decline versus slower, more gradual decline, respectively). I think it is important to resist the temptation to normalize all of our experiences into one standard with merely slight variations here and there.

I am concerned that calling men's experience "male menopause" may result in a diminution of health care for women. After all, if the so-called "menopause" is something that happens to both sexes, then perhaps women's experiences do not deserve special medical treatment.

I don't like that possibility and don't think it is right. I believe that men's health and women's health should have specialized treatment for the conditions that affect each sex. All the health concerns are important and they all deserve attention. The term "male menopause" seems akin to "female prostatitis." While women do not have a prostate gland, and hence will not develop prostatitis, they do have homologous Skene's glands, so perhaps one could use a term like "female prostatitis" in the same way that "male menopause" is used.

I appreciate your pointing out the differences here and in this article:

http://lifetwo.com/production/node/20060803-midlife-crisis-or-andropause

Understanding the differences and thinking clearly is likely to lead to better health care for everyone. Thanks!