Bloody Beautiful Gossip Session

What to expect in this Gossip Session

You have spoken, and they have listened! Tolhuistuin is delighted to present the results of their recent Bloody Beautiful menopause research in collaboration with Opinium. Emily Dickinson, Head of Opinium Amsterdam, will show how they surveyed Dutch society to gain insight into feelings, attitudes and beliefs towards menopause. Part of the research was the representation of menopausal people in media, films and everyday conversations at home and at work. The evening will also include a selection of sometimes hilarious (sometimes infuriating) film fragments, curated by Juliette Brederode from Affect Lab, critically reflecting how menopause is portrayed in mainstream films.

The evening will be moderated by Dr Natalie Dixon, the director of the affected lab. Emily Dickinson will present the survey results, and Juliette Brederode will present the film selection.

About the menopause in the Netherlands

Menopause is still an underexposed topic in the Netherlands—we want to change that! Bloody Beautiful's nationally representative menopause research contributes to a clearer picture of how menopause culture is taking shape.

Previous studies show

• According to Women Inc., 1.8 million people are currently in menopause in the Netherlands.
• According to the RIVM, 1 in 3 working women in the Netherlands experience health complaints related to menopause. 48% of these women cannot talk about this with their manager.
• According to Statistics Netherlands, €654 million in productivity is lost in the Netherlands each year due to menopausal symptoms.

About affect lab

Affect Lab is a creative studio and research practice based in Amsterdam. For the past four years, they have been working towards a more inclusive future for menstruators and menopausal through the Bloody Beautiful movement. The movement aims to normalize conversations around menstruation and menopause through public events and creative workshops throughout the Netherlands. In October 2025, Affect Lab will launch the inaugural Bloody Beautiful Biennale in Amsterdam.

About Opinium

Opinium is an award-winning, independent research agency with offices in Amsterdam, London and New York. As an agency, one of our core principles is that we do research that makes a difference not just to our clients but also to our teams and the communities in which we operate. We call this ‘research for good’, and it’s the reason many of us chose to work at Opinium in the first place and the reason we stay. Over the last 10 years, we’ve worked with charities and NGOs across Europe to support causes and issues that tackle social and economic inequality and discrimination.