Penelope Cruz 'angry' about taboo surrounding menopause

London: Penelope Cruz says society has perpetuated many taboos around women’s health issues such as menstruation and menopause, which is disrespectful.

The 45-year-old actor said she was “angry” at how social structures, including families, don’t even consider these topics worthy of a conversation.

“Hormones rule the world … I bet you weren’t expecting to talk about hormones. Okay. Hormones. There are times in the life of a woman that have to be acknowledged, and understood and called by their name. There are too many taboos surrounding women’s bodies and I think it equals a big lack of respect.

“You might be thinking, ‘What is the relationship between hormones and respect?’ It’s completely related. Words like ‘period’, ‘post-partum depression’, ‘menopause’. Even today, those words, you bring them up at a dinner table, everybody gets nervous. Even if it’s a group of women, if men are also at the table, the energy gets very nervous. The peri-menopause goes from 40 to 50, and nobody talks about that. Society keeps things as a taboo and I’m really angry about this,” Cruz told Tatler magazine for its August 2019 issue.

The Oscar-winning actor said though she is glad to see women being included in the showbiz more, there is still a long way to go.

“I feel like everything that they’re asking us in interviews… They ask us about the changes that have happened in the business over the last couple of years, in terms of the movement towards equality for women and respect for women. Of course it feels like there’s been some improvement. But it’s only the beginning,” she said.