Why Do Humans Have Menopause?

The human body is full of mysteries, but we can start to solve those mysteries with help from science and the bodies of grandma whales.

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Hosted by: Hank Green
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[SciShow]

Maybe we should add this note every time we talk about biological sex on SciShow. Here's the thing, there are definite and dramatic physical differences between biological males and biological females. There are also psychological tendencies and cultural expectations, and those things are in the mind and in culture and so fundamentally come down to individual experience.

Because of that, gender has recently started to be considered separately from biological sex. This seems perfectly legitimate to the entire editorial staff of SciShow, and we are happy to discuss biological sex in a way that recognizes the existence of transgender people.

There are also a number of (probably not as rare as you think) intersex conditions in which people's biology does not fall into either of the two sexes.

For these reasons we don't find it inconvenient or extraordinary to separate gender and biological sex. We understand that this will cause discussion, but we appreciate the discussion being thoughtful rather than ideological, if that is at all possible.

- Hank

[vampirica]

I always wondered why it's called menopause when it's never resuming. It should be menoend.
Also, I love my grandma. She's 94 and still awesome.

[chasethegreatpalmer]

if someone's born deaf do they still have an inner voice?

[fareedal-bandar]

We have a proverb in my country: "None is dearer than the child, except for the child's child", seems to fit well with the grandmother hypothesis.

[MastaKeefe]

"close encounters of the sperm kind"..

[ELWest]

I thought he was gonna say this episode of Sci-Show would not exist without our grandmas.

[photosinensis]

But why do humans have periods? Most mammals reabsorb the uterine lining. But we don't. Why?

[forrest_ation]

I love how inclusive Sci Show is in referring to people experiencing menstruation or menopause. This was 3 years ago and they were already two steps ahead of the game. Greatly appreciated 👏🏽👏🏽

[WeatherManChad]

I didn't even notice Hank say people instead of women... but now that everyone mentions it, I still don't care. This is not a priority for me, I am way more interested in the science explained in the video.

[JennieWrenStar]

As a Grandma who adores her grandchildren & has been supporting SciShow for many years now, thank you Hank!

[swansong]

Well, now that you've broached the subject of menopause, it would be great to follow up on what causes the side effects, such as hot flashes, mood swings, night sweats, etc. Menopause is no walk in the park.

[BoostedMonkey]

I thought that since reproduction takes a lot of energy that when we reach our mid 30s to 50s that it gradually goes down the priority list because our bodies need the energy more to stay alive.

[XlittleXdrummerXgirl]

Let's give this vid a round of meno-plause!

[_b.]

"liberals get so easily offended" yet 70% of the comments are just non-libs getting razzled because Hank said "people with ovaries"

[davidonfim]

Because sometimes women just need a pause from men.

[elanianiyvwia]

grandmothers are a treasure!! wish i still had mine!!

[_in_the_afternoon]

I thought the science in this video was fascinating. Thank you, SciShow.

[tootpaste]

I watched this video entirely because I had read hank's blog post on it, and really didn't notice the lack of gendered language, but as the sister of a female-to-male transperson, I know it goes a long long way. Thank you so so so much scishow team.

[felixnewtsocorro]

I really appreciate the inclusive language used here. Thank you.

[catiedoesit]

"Close encounters of the sperm kind" lol