Since launching her podcast Grey Areas, broadcaster Petra Bagust has helped lift the taboo on talking about perimenopause and menopause, and its high ratings have proved that it is more than a sporadic hot flush.
Its sizzling success politely gives the finger to a male exec naysayer of the project because “who’s going to listen to that?!”.
Now in its fourth season with a fifth in the planning, Grey Areas is a place where women are free to express themselves and talk openly about navigating menopause – the pros and the cons.
At age 51, Bagust is excited for the future and “this season” as she likes to put it, and she’s not referring to her podcast, Christmas or the summer break – though it’s a favourite time of year.
She’s speaking about menopause and her decision to “age intentionally”.
“I feel excited, challenged, curious and positive about it,” she says.
Her decision comes after pondering whether she was willing to embrace the benefits of ageing as well as the challenges. Let go of the benefits of being young and embrace the newness and opportunities ageing offers. And with that, came a sense of freedom.
Letting her hair go naturally grey has been part of that and while she maintains a skincare routine, she is not worried about erasing wrinkles.
“I don’t want to pursue something that’s not part of the season. Am I a purist?” she asks. “No, I’m just embracing as much as I can and who I am is more important than how I look. Who I am, how I am in the world and how I behave and treat others is a reflection of how I treat myself and is more important than if I look 35
