M_______ started with a phone call between two friends who realized that — despite a fair amount of education — they knew nothing about Menopause.

Sasha (author of Menopause, An Imperfect Guide): In January of 2017, as I stood amidst an estimated crowd of 100,000 women at the Women’s March in  Portland, Oregon, I had a realization that went something like this: we will never be seen or treated as equals as long as we perceive our bodies to be problematic, weird, or shameful. 
I have been a barista, a server, an administrative assistant, a project manager, a front desk girl, a cheesemonger, an affineur, an author, a chef, and a restaurant-owner. I am a 44-year-old woman who, until conducting research for Menopause, An Imperfect Guide, was operating with whatever knowledge about my body and sex that I picked up in high school health class, from friends and partners, and via movies and television. In this way, I believe I am incredibly average.
I am determined to break this cycle of blindness toward our physical bodies for all women and girls. Menopause, An Imperfect Guide, is my first step in that direction.

Nancy (Creator, M_______ ): While I have held many titles in my professional life—designer, creative director, educator, amateur architect, artist—the work I do now focuses on claiming power through the body. Part exercise and functional movement, part dance and physical labor, my work examines how the world around us suggests or controls the ways we use our bodies and offers counter-proposals to expand our understanding of our bodily capabilities. I make sculpture, performance, drawings and participatory spaces to reestablish our bodies as a site of imagination.
This work emerged from the relationship I have developed with my own physical body, which didn’t happen until my mid-30s. The personal confidence and strength I’ve gained living life in my body ignited a desire to help others claim power in their lives by lifting the giant curtain of shame, fear, confusion, or mystery that enshrouds the bodies, and thus, the lives of many.

contact Sasha: info@sashadavies.com
contact Nancy: info@mpauseproject.com