Tag: Older Women and Aging

Barbie and My Midlife Crisis

This year has found me clinging to youth with more gusto than ever. One of my kids mused, “Why can’t you be like other middle-aged people?” I shrugged, but I guess it’s because I think you’re either young or old. And I know which one I’d choose. Then I saw Barbie.

Greta Gerwig’s film has been labeled a feminist triumph (or failure) and a manifesto against (or tool of) corporate capitalism, but for me, it’s all about my midlife crisis (or “transition” to be kind). In the film, Barbie finds herself having irrepressible thoughts of death—and before she knows it, her perfect body and her dream world start showing signs of Real World flaws. Outside of Barbieland, much of our collective panic about dwindling youth stems from a culture that glorifies being young while rendering older people—particularly women—invisible.

Why Menopause Representation Matters: ‘Women in Positions of Power Realize This Is Not Something to Be Secretive About’

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Representation of menopause in popular culture matters. Among the ways menopause has been reflected on TV, the And Just Like That cast has tackled issues of aging, including a cameo by Ms. co-founder Gloria Steinem last week.

It was also the main theme of a Judy Blume film screening and panel Ms. recently co-hosted in New York City entitled “Menopause Needs Our Margaret”—a reference to Blume’s iconic book, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. The event gathered the filmmakers behind the Judy Blume Forever documentary, Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok, plus menopause advocates Stacy London, Sharon Malone, Omisade Burney-Scott, Tamsen Fadal and Susan McPherson, in conversation with Jennifer Weiss-Wolf.

Read on for highlights from our New York City event.

Soccer Players Also Face Retirement Inequity

The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) won pay equity in 2022. While that’s an amazing achievement for these young women, another inequity looms for them down the road—retirement inequity. Across the board, women retire with 30 percent less retirement income than men.

Retirement services provider TIAA has launched a campaign to highlight retirement inequity and call for pay equity across all women’s careers.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Virginia Sends its First Black Woman to Congress; Barbara Lee Enters California Senate Race

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: Jennifer McClellan will be the first Black woman to represent Virginia in the House of Representatives; as an older generation steps back from political positions, more younger women step up to lead;

Menopause Went Prime Time at the Super Bowl. Now the Federal Government Must Step Up

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Menopause has been sorely neglected by the mainstream medical establishment, by lawmakers, by employers and by just about everyone. As a result, millions of women are left to navigate its most debilitating symptoms with little support.

Menopause is clearly having a prime-time moment—and we think that’s worth cheering. We challenge the National Institutes for Health to design and launch a modern initiative to assert the long-term benefits of hormone therapy and accurately assess its risks.

‘Gray Love’: Yes, Older People Have Desires

Gray Love: Stories About Dating and New Relationships After 60 showcases men and women’s own voices, showing the nitty-gritty headiness of first dates, the joy of getting to know someone’s history, politics and quirks, and the inevitability of decline.

Nan Bauer-Maglin, co-editor, says it’s rare for books about love to intertwine with aging. “I hope that younger readers will learn that older people have desires and still want to date and have romantic relationships. I hope that they will see that older people do not want to spend the rest of their lives longing for a person who is no longer there.”