My sister texted me the Black Girls’ Guide to Surviving Menopause (BGGSM) podcast January 2021. I was complaining about my symptoms and a lack of resources. I’ve listened to Seasons 1 and 2, and here’s my take:
What I LOVE: Omisade Burney-Scott is a Black southern 7th generation native North Carolinian feminist, mother and healer with decades of experience in nonprofit leadership, philanthropy, and social justice.
In a world and country that centers everyone except the Black woman, Burney-Scott has curated a space that is not only necessary, but also nurturing.
I like this.
BGGSM feels like the fantastical mother, grandmother, aunt, and great aunt conversations I’ve had in my head. It’s what I’d think aging with a community of Black friends would feel like. Burney-Scott has brought Black women together to have honest and authentic conversations about what it means to be older.
One of my favorite episodes is called “Aperture: Leo Season,” featuring Lana Garland. In “Aperture,” Garland discusses her mother, her favorite aunt, creativity, and sex after fifty. It is one of the most liberating and naturally fun interviews in the series.
Season 3 is a Millennial Takeover, which is worth a listen if you’re born between 1981 and 1996.
What I don’t LOVE: The podcast is called Black Girls’ Guide to Surviving Menopause; therefore, when I first began listening, I expected conversations about menopause, especially because I was on the proverbial struggle bus. But as Burney-Scott explains during Season 2’s episode, “The Star of a Story,” this podcast is not designed to discuss the biology of menopause.
It is not all about hot flashes and mood swings.
The podcast’s primary purpose is to share specific stories about Black women, who identify as femmes, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary. Subsequently, an hour episode could include forty-five minutes or so of Burney-Scott conversing with a guest, who may or not identify as cisgender and fifteen minutes of convo about, for example, how consuming sugar may be the reason why your insomnia is keeping you up at night.
Overall: BGGSM is integral in a society that does not value Black women’s voices. However, if you’re looking for advice about how to get sleep at night and stop sweating…this podcast won’t fulfill that need.
Listen to Black Girls’ Guide to Surviving Menopause podcast.
Visit Black Girls’ Guide to Surviving Menopause website.
Navigating the Change Rating: FOR STORYTELLING?
Navigating the Change Rating: FOR MENOPAUSAL HELP?
Navigating the Change 