Women Over Fifty—Our Remarkable Generation
As many of you know, I like to say that baby boomer women are totally transforming the spirit and style of aging… and that we are! Yesterday, I broadcast the third interview of my radio show, Feisty Side of Fifty Radio, and I asked my guest, Erica Ross-Krieger, in which ways she identified with our generation. She replied that we gals have been feisty throughout our lives and that got me to thinking, “boy, was she right!”
Here are just a few ways our generation redefined the role of womanhood:
We went on to higher education in droves—never before had women attended college in such numbers.
We broke into businesses previously denied us, moving from the three lone occupations allowed to women (nurse, teacher, secretary) into positions of real authority.
We moved into the political world—now women are holding governorships, seats in congress, and even running for President.
We mounted the pulpit (in many religions) and claimed the right to preach alongside men.
We changed the laws of the land, making them far more equitable for both genders.
We fought for and achieved Title IX, which provides athletic scholarships to colleges and universities for young women in equal numbers to those given to young men.
We broke the gender barrier in multiple ways: our faces now appear on TV, we’re in the cockpit, we’re in the army, we’re on Wall Street, we’re in the operating room (doing the operations) and we’re in the boss’s office.
And these are just a small sampling of the ways we changed society.
As such an extraordinary group of women, how could we not entirely redefine the meaning of growing older? So, let us always remember how remarkable we truly are and, as I like to say, let’s go out and show the world just how feisty a woman over fifty can be!
Go get ‘em girls!
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January 15th, 2009 at 6:56 am
Thanks for having this website. sharon
November 7th, 2008 at 10:56 am
I definitely remember being told by high school advisers that if I went to college I could be a nurse or a teacher–that was it! We have certainly made huge strides AND there is more for us. By that I mean whatever we dream of, we can go for it. Unfortunately many women I meet believe they don’t have a choice; they feel stuck and don’t think they have the option to create a better life. That’s why my coauthor Lynn Hull and I wrote “Your Life Your Way: The Essential Guide for Women”…..we want to see more and more mature women pursuing their dreams and desires and moving forward. It’s never too late and we are never too old!
November 3rd, 2008 at 6:02 am
I remember hearing my father constantly complaining to my mother who was a Fashion Model and Interior Decorator and Landscape Designer and Artist; that women do not work! He demanded for her to stay home and care for him and us three kids. Little did I know how much her standing her ground and not only being an excellent mother, homemaker, devoted wife but also making time while we were in school to peruse her dreams and talents affected who I am today. We are the generation of women who could do it all and multi-task without complaining and compromising who we are. Great post!
November 2nd, 2008 at 7:11 pm
We’re all that!
November 2nd, 2008 at 12:24 pm
I find it even more amazing to learn the “herstory” of the generations that preceded us. If boomers made and continue to make huge changes, we can thank the women before us who braved even more hostile environments to pave the way to education and suffrage. I invite every boomer to read about some of these amazing women–and be inspired! We did not even have the right to vote nationally till the 1920s–same with equal pay for equal work. One of my heroines is Sojourner Truth. She not only renamed herself; when her slave owner promised her freedom a year before official abolition if she “worked hard,” when he reneged, she “walked” away. She notes she did not run, because that wouldn’t be right. She worked with local Quakers to take legal action to get her son back from an abusive owner. Despite her children sold into slavery and her lack of education, she made waves in the best possible way. I love her quote which could easily be taken up by women baby boomers who want to make a difference: “If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down, all alone. Together women ought to be able to turn it right-side-up again.”
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:47 am
We broke the glass ceiling at work, home and now for the “golden years” – I wonder how much we’ll all shake up the Hereafter, lol!
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:29 am
I remember my mom and what few choices she really had in her life. I look at my daughter and all the opportunities that lie before her. It amazes me that we have come so far in so short a time. It just shows what women can do. My husband commented just last night that he read an article stating that many other non-profits are angry at all of the attention paid to breast cancer. We take money from other serious research. And I said that until women stood up and said we were tired of dying and fought to be heard, breast cancer research was non-existant. Instead of whining about no funding, perhaps they should learn a thing or two from this generation of women – stand up and be heard.
November 1st, 2008 at 5:31 pm
Things have changed, I remember when we had to wear dresses to school. I was very thankful when we could wear bluejeans.
November 1st, 2008 at 10:45 am
Yes we have come a long way, and we’ve paved the way for our children and grandchildren. To the point that they see their paths as “entitlement” rather than “earned”. I don’t know if that is good or bad.
November 1st, 2008 at 9:30 am
Oh yes, we have done all this and more! Younger generations criticize us for the “mess we have made of the world”, but the greater truth is that we paved the way for them to be able to pursue careers of their choice, without having to break through the male barriers and prejudice.
Yea us!
November 1st, 2008 at 9:02 am
Time has truly changed and I was just thinking the other day how different it was for my daughter growing up in a world were women are doing things that they did not when I was growing up. And how I must continue and encourage my grand-daughters as well – I believe that women of our generation will keep on being role models for many more years. We are a remarkable generation for sure!
November 1st, 2008 at 7:26 am
Another way we changed society? We bought homes on our own, travel alone, choose to not bear children, and sometimes choose to remain single. I know women who popped the question to their man and others we declined the offer even when it could have “improved” her financial picture. In all cases including the ones mentioned in your post above I believe that all of these things are possible largely due to the support of other women.
Here’s to girl power at any age!
Gregory Anne
October 31st, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I remember when…I am woman hear me roar…and everyone listens now…
I was recently talking with my twenty something nieces and they did not even know who Gloria Steinem was or how far away one generation jumped for womankind.
Young women today expect to go to college and become CEOs and get equal pay and have babies in their 30’s or whenever and stay home or not, they have so many choices.
Yeah, we’ve come a long way.
October 31st, 2008 at 2:24 pm
We even got our own cigarette–remember the commercial:
You’ve come a long way baby
to get where you got to today
You’ve got your own cigarette now baby
You’ve come a long, long way
Even though I never smoked them