Jacob TennessenThe quip about "the whole purpose of the postmenopausal female" is such a perfect example of both bad science and bad scicomm. This inane statement usefully illuminates common mistakes when thinking or talking about biology. A thread.
First, on bad scicomm. Adaptive "purpose" is not the same as purpose in a practical/moral sense, which must be clarified when discussing evolution. The adaptive purpose of your ears' eustachian tubes—why these holes evolved in the first place—is underwater filter-feeding. Don't used them for this.
Our earholes and our post-reproductive lifespans are fascinating to contemplate! Isn't in interesting that these are part of human biology? How did this come to be? You can talk about this without mentioning "purpose" at all. It's about the wonder and the story, not a restriction on who we can be.
But secondly, the "grandmother hypothesis" is shaky science. Orcas also have menopause but don't raise grandkids. In these and other long-lived mammals like elephants, the role of elderly females is long memory, wisdom, and leadership.
In humans, unlike lab animals conductive to experimentation, adaptive just-so-stories are at best untestable hypotheses. Why do humans live longer than other primates? We can study the genetics of senescence and build narratives that best fit the evidence, but we may never know conclusively.
A great intro to this topic is the chapter on menopause in Eve by Cat Bohannon.
I'm even not getting into how it's disrespectful and dehumanizing to offhandedly call women "females", or the political implications of a VP candidate having the social awareness of a 13-year-old on reddit. Just in terms of misconstruing evolution, there's a lot to think about.
PedestrianError 
@JacobPhD The other interesting thing is that while men over 60 can still produce ejaculate that contains some sperm and occasionally they have sex with younger partners who go on to have babies, the majority of elderly men are not still producing children, yet nobody asks why they stay alive. Their value just as human beings who deserve to live isn’t questioned - unless they fit into an oppressed category for something other than their sex.