We talk a lot about periods, but we don’t talk about this period: Perimenopause.
Though it’s been shrouded by ageist remarks, sexist headlines, and quiet whispers, perimenopause is as routine as puberty or your monthly period. But what happens when that familiar period stops? Or becomes irregular?
Starting as early as your 30s, those in perimenopause can experience up to a whopping 34 different physical and mental health-related symptoms—including hot flashes, mood swings, night sweats, and muscle aches.
Lack of knowledge and awareness are barriers to women speaking openly about their experiences. Left to internalize pain and discomfort, we often suffer in silence.
In reality, there are tons of effective tools, coping mechanisms, and treatments available. If only we could recognize the signs and say them out loud.
Well, we’re talking about perimenopause out loud. Shouting it out loud, actually.
The Invisible Period is a campaign film created by Knix to shine light on a period of people’s lives that receives so little attention that 90% feel unprepared for the perimenopause journey.
Directed by longtime Knix collaborator, Soleil Denault, the film is a portrait of life's natural patterns. It explores the routine periods that make up the rhythms of our lives, and the big, life-altering periods (or missed periods) that make up many of life's losses and milestones.
We live with these periods for decades until, one day, The Invisible Period catches us off guard.
Featuring Knix founder, Joanna Griffiths, content creator and activist, Sarain Fox, as well as members of the Knix community, the project aims to change the narrative around perimenopause.
In school, we learn about puberty, periods, and pregnancy but perimenopause remains obscured. This even though, according to the National Institute on Aging, more than one million US-women experience menopause each year.
Far from uniform, perimenopause affects everyone differently, and at different stages of life.
Notorious for its pesky symptoms—everything from anxiety to brain fog—many women enter this often decade-spanning phase without even knowing.
When those symptoms don't receive the support they deserve, people are often left feeling alone; women leave the workforce in droves, thinking something is wrong with them, or muscle-through discomfort when they don't have to.
This simply reinforces false notions that menopausal women are in decline, that their social value has somehow depreciated.
This couldn't be further from the truth: perimenopause is a new chapter, a transition full of changes that can be empowering with access to the right support and resources.
It's not just a talking point for women, either. Everyone—including men—are invited to help change the narrative, participate in discourse, and offer support to the perimenopausal folks in their life.
We’re shedding the shame, cultural taboos, and misconceptions surrounding menopause and helping give it the rebrand it so desperately needs. Because from your first period to your last, we've got you covered.