Mansplaining Menopause
by Joe Gold

-FIRST LIGHT FESTIVAL-

When Kelly wakes Paul at three in the morning, fanning herself by the window during a hot flash, she informs him that she intends to go on hormone replacement therapy. But Paul knows that Kelly’s primary care doctor is against that due to Kelly’s medical history - she had a life-threatening blood clot. Since Kelly has a follow-up with her gynecologist the next morning, Paul insists on staying up through the night researching the history of hormone replacement therapy, the flawed Women’s Health Initiative study, and navigating multiple conflicting medical opinions from Kelly’s various doctors. Meanwhile, Kelly fights for her right to make her own medical decisions while she learns about the misogynistic history of women’s health. But since Paul is the playwright, literally putting words into Kelly’s mouth, can she gain autonomy over her body and her decisions, or is she at the mercy of her husband, like so many generations before her?