Cover courtesy of Amazon
“I just finished ‘In our Prime: How Older Women are Reinventing the Road Ahead’ (Susan J. Douglas, W. W. Norton & Company, 2020. $25.95 ). I saw the author talking about her book about a month earlier on Book TV (C-Span). It certainly speaks to the #MeToo movement and especially to a possible woman VP. One of the best exposes of how ‘generational feminism’ has grown throughout the early 1960s to now, ‘In Our Prime’ focuses on the ‘anti-aging industrial complex’ that continues to degrade older women and to pit them against younger generation. She calls for the different generations of feminists to help each other. Whatever their age, women should understand not to focus solely on issues related to one’s younger years, like childcare and reproductive rights, at the expense of issues crucial in the older years, such as poverty and women’s disappearance as valued people. Douglas is deeply opposed to the ‘aspirational aging’ promoted by medical ads that suggest women should strive to be forever young. She delves into social media portrayals of older women of all races and wealth. It’s a great read.” — Joan Souza, Portland
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