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Andrea Stretton tackles Germaine Greer about the impact of her latest book The Change: Women, Ageing and the Menopause (1991), citing the mixed reactions of feminists to her work. Germaine Greer points out in no uncertain terms that there are as many views about the world as there are feminists, because feminism is not a religion with its attendant dogma.
Curator’s notes
Germaine Greer is a formidable interviewee but Andrea Stretton is well informed about Greer’s work and not afraid to ask her provocative questions, despite Greer’s combative style. The Change: Women, Ageing and the Menopause (1991) was described in the New York Times as a 'brilliant, gutsy, exhilarating, bruising, exasperating fury of a book’ in which Greer tries to dispel the prevailing myths about the menopause and the health of older women. In fact, the doubts Greer raises in the book and this interview about hormone replacement therapy have since been borne out by long-term studies of women using HRT.
The interview takes place in the drawing room of a hotel in Melbourne where Greer was staying during her trip. Many Book Show interviews took place away from the studio, either in nature or in a library, a bar, or even on a yacht. Andrea Stretton recalled there was even a memorable linking segment with Andrea and co-host Dinny O’Hearn on horseback.
