I’ve gotta admit, when I turned sixty a few years back, the number stuck in my throat. Here I was writing a blog, Feisty Side of Fifty, and I didn’t want to admit exactly how far on the feisty side I was. Then I met Barbara Rose Brooker.

Barbara is an inspiration in a number of ways: she’s an artist, author, university instructor, and has her own one-woman show. But Barbara is even more than that—she’s an activist and a role model for celebrating life fully no matter how old we are. To these ends, Barbara launched the first ever Age March held last August in San Francisco.

Now this revolutionary idea is really taking hold. Barbara is heading up the second Age March, which will take place this Saturday (May 21^st) in Los Angeles. All are invited and age is definitely not an issue. I got a preview of the festivities on Feisty Side of Fifty Radio so you’ll want to tune in to hear all about it. Also, Barbara will be a featured guest on The Talk this Wednesday, May 18^th. Check your local CBS listings for the time in your area. And, for specifics on the March, go to AgeMarch.com.

For those of you who live in the LA area, be sure to come on down to join Barbara, Hollywood notables, and us regular revelers—all celebrating our age by claiming it. I’m 63 and I’ll be marching. How about you? As Barbara says: Aging well isn’t about Botox—it’s about spirit!

So show up and show the world just how feisty and spirited a woman over fifty can be!

But we all realize that real life is different. Surprisingly enough, life can be all too real… even for a soap star. One of the brightest and longest shining stars told me all about it recently on Feisty Side of Fifty Radio. Tina Sloan, who played Nurse Lillian Raines for 26 years on Guiding Light, has written a wonderful new book, Changing Shoes. It deals with Tina’s experience of growing older using footwear as a metaphor for the multiple transformations that take place with age.

One of my favorite quotes from the book is: “No one knows more about aging than a soap star who started out as the star; then become the mother of the star; and then became the grandmother of the star.” Tina writes with great candor about how her role began to change, how her character moved from the center of the action to more supporting plotlines, and what she ultimately did about it.

But Tina also shares some intimate and profound lessons she’s learned from personal experience. She writes of a number of ups and some big-time downs, her various real-life roles, and her insights into growing older (but not old!) with style, humor, and grace. There’s plenty of solid information and practical steps we can take to make our lives better. Tina covers everything from make-up for the mature face, to adding a touch of the frisky to your love life, to getting your affairs in order.

Also, the book offers it’s share of delightful, laugh-out-loud anecdotes as Tina gives us the inside story of some of the more memorable moments in the sudsy world of soap operas. She also shared some rollicking tales with me in our 15-minute interview. So I invite you to take a break, take a listen, and then head over to Tina’s website and check out Changing Shoes.

Why not celebrate the Feisty Side of Fifty with some feisty new footwear? If it’s good for nurse Lillian Raines, you can bet it’s just the prescription to cure any of your ills!

I battled, I groaned, I even starved (well, not too much!) but that doggone roll displayed properties similar to industrial strength super-glue. No matter what I tried, it seemed forever bonded to its perch. At least by naming it my “muffin top,” I could refer to it with some levity. Inside, however, I certainly didn’t consider it a laughing matter.

But then I found Kathy Smith’s new video Ageless with Kathy Smith: Staying Strong. This amazing woman is approaching sixty and possesses more energy and a better body than most women half her age. Looking at Kathy makes you realize that exercise truly is the fountain of youth.

But back to us regular folk. If you’ve got areas of you body you want to improve (and at our age, who doesn’t?) you’ve gotta check out this video. Unlike most of the exercise routines aimed at women of maturity, this one challenges you. Even if you’re in relatively good shape, I doubt you’ll be able to complete all the exercises the first couple of go-rounds. I’ve been at it for a few weeks and have moved from being able to master about two-thirds of the reps to lasting though about three-quarters of them without shouting “uncle!”

Better yet, I’m feeling inspired and motivated to get stronger and push harder each time I workout. And, although the routine is challenging, Kathy has carefully chosen exercises so that you won’t injure yourself. I’ve got a bum shoulder (result of an inexperienced trainer) and back issues. Neither has given me any pain.

So, if you want to look great in your summer wardrobe, take a listen to my interview with Kathy and hear what she has to say. Then head over to her website and check out all she has to offer. I’m pleased to report that, thanks to Kathy, my once doughy muffin-top has finally begun to deflate. Best of all—it’s a lot easier to look and feel feisty without all that back fat!

According to the subjects interviewed in this film, you likely have a while to wait before the best years of your life roll around. These feisty folk are adamant that life begins at ninety! Yep, you read that right—ninety!

Over 90 and Loving It is one of those shows that will touch your heart and lift your spirits.  Susan Polis Schutz, acclaimed poet, author, activist, and filmmaker has gifted her audience with a film for the ages… literally! Acting as director, executive producer, and interviewer, Susan sought out and spoke with nonagenarians who shared their thoughts on living a happy and productive life well into old age.

You’ll recognize Pete Seeger (well-known to boomers for such songs as If I Had a Hammer and Where Have All the Flowers Gone?), but Susan also interviewed a ninety-plus year-old cabdriver, a newlywed couple, a recent college grad, and a social activist who mounted a solo march across the country to make her point.

Aside from the belief that their tenth decade on earth is a total blast, these amazing individuals share certain traits in common: they keep a positive attitude, don’t dwell on aches and pains, nor do they worry about much of anything. They keep physically active and stay as healthy as possible. They choose to be around happy people and avoid the nay-saying, negative downer types. They’re curious, engaged, and want to make a difference in the lives of others. And, given this positive and uplifting outlook on life, these senior citizens aren’t afraid of death—rather a great way to live I’d say.

So do yourself a real favor and take the brief 15-minutes to listen to Susan share her experience interviewing these inspiring role models. After that, check your local PBS listings for the next showing of Over 90 and Loving It. If ever there were a show to put a smile on your face, this is the one.

And I thought being over 50 was great—now I can’t wait ‘til I hit the big 9-0—it’s gonna be amazing!

But Barbara doesn’t rest on her marching laurels…not by a long shot!  She’s an artist, teacher, and author of several books—the latest of which, The Viagra Diaries, is becoming a cause célèbre. So when Barbara asked if I’d act as a co-host on her new radio program, “The Boomer Hottie Show,” I jumped at the chance.

To launch the show, we wanted a very special guest with both personal power and a point of view. Boy, were we fortunate! Wendy Riche, Hollywood insider and Executive Producer of such mega-hits as General Hospital and Port Charles, started us off with a bang as she weighed in on ageism, gender, and the growing market value of appealing to boomers on both the small and silver screens.

According to Wendy, two attributes are critical to achieving success: attitude and authenticity.  As a former network executive on ABC and FBC, as well as producing several movies, Wendy was a female pioneer playing in a mostly male game. As she put it: you need to understand the hand your dealt, the unwritten [but ever-essential] rules of the game, and make the most of the cards you’re given. “Don’t offend—maneuver and keep forging forward.”

Wendy believes talent always matters more than age and it’s how you handle ageism that counts. “Nobody makes you feel anything…we all have choices.” Walking her talk, Wendy is already planning several projects that will explore the human condition at its fullest—using age to reinvent ourselves and become ever more authentic to our unique being. And, true to her pioneering past, Wendy is even looking into the final transition, exploring projects that deal with death and dying.

In the land of celluloid, starlets, and silicon implants, plastic surgery is thought to be de rigueur once a woman hits her forties. Not necessarily so! For Wendy (although she claims a certain neck-hating affinity with Nora Ephron), “It’s time to accept who we are and move forward despite the obstacles.” As she put it: “Age is a state of mind and, although it may change the way you see yourself, plastic surgery doesn’t lift your consciousness!”

So if you’re looking for an uplifting dose of attitude and authenticity, be sure to tune in to “The Boomer Hottie Show” and take a listen to all the great advice Wendy and Barbara have to share. There’s a growing movement afoot around this country. Even in Hollywood, aging is becoming the hot, new thing. And, with boomer hotties such as Candice Bergen, Cher, Pattie Duke, Sally Field, Diane Keaton, Dolly Parton, and Susan Sarandon all turning 65 this year, you’ve gotta agree—the age of Social Security has never looked so sizzling!

March 8 commemorates the one hundredth anniversary of the official recognition of the world’s women. Over that century American women got the vote, became economic entities, and were granted equal rights in most spheres. And we found our voices. We have been speaking up and speaking out about the conditions and experiences of our lives, and as a result much of our story has emerged from the obscurity that history has relegated us to.

“Lost Women”

In the early days of Ms .magazine we developed a feature we called “Lost Women,” which told the stories of accomplished, brave, and inspiring women whose achievements – as impressive as any of their male contemporaries – had been swept under the patriarchal rug. The message of that feature was that it wasn’t for want of skill and enterprise that women didn’t show up in our history books and the objective was to reclaim many of those women. Later, when I was working on the HBO documentary She’s Nobody’s Baby: American Women in the Twentieth Century (which won a Peabody Award, I’m proud to say), there were whole chunks of our experience for which there was no news footage; to show how it was for women at home in the fifties, for example, we had to use ads for the appliances she was told to buy in order to be the good housewife she was expected to be.

Over the years we have been filling in the blanks…

On both the political and personal levels. Women’s history programs proliferated and mothers, daughters, and grandmothers began to tell each other the truth about being a woman. But the story is still not being fully recorded. Witness the recent furor about the finding that only 13% of the active contributors to Wikipedia are women, and even worse, the entries about women are also anemic. A reporter for the Women’s Media Center website found that “the entry for the fictional Susan Mayer from Desperate Housewives was double that of suffragist Susan B. Anthony.”

One reason for this sad record is a misguided reverence for “facts” over “fiction” which translates into valuing quantitative descriptions over stories, events over individual experiences. Back in the Ms. days, we got lots of laughs over the distinction male journalists made between the “hard news” they admired and “soft news.”

And to some extent we have bought into that thinking, even though we personally choose the reverse .I can’t imagine writing the books I do without the stories of individual women or reading accounts of political events without the details of peoples’ lives. Despite all the journals we are working on, with the encouragement of such sites as SheWrites.com and despite the increasing number of women who speak about events with authority, with the encouragement of such sites as TheOpEdProject.com, our full story still isn’t getting recorded for posterity.

Honoring Women, Sharing Our Experiences

I can’t think of a better way to honor women past and present than by sharing our experiences. I hope many of us will enrich the accounts of women’s lives on Wikipedia and bring the stories of personal history – your own, your grandmother’s, someone whose life you admire – to the attention of local papers, groups you belong to, or your friends around the table at lunch. And please post them on my website too.

We cannot let our history be defined by imposed restrictions on how we tell it, any more than we can let others tell us how to live it. The story of how we are breaking free of being told what to do is our history.

Resources

To share your stories or learn more about organizations dedicated to making women visible in the media, history books and on the Internet, please visit:

www.wikipedia.org

www.msmagazine.com

www.womensmediacenter.com

www.theopedproject.org

www.wifp.org

www.shewrites.com

www.feminist.com

www.suzannebraunlevine.com

www.more.com

www.vibrantnation.com

So why isn’t there more publicity? Doesn’t this day deserve at least as much fanfare as the Super Bowl, Halloween, or even Groundhog Day? Apparently not! This lack of mention is not only distressing; it’s one more instance of the devaluation of women that’s gone on since recorded time. And I, for one, wish the Great Goddess was still around to kick a little butt!

But since her return isn’t likely to happen anytime soon, let’s launch a fitting celebration of the holiday and commence some butt kicking of our own. Tell your friends and neighbors, inform your coworkers and clients, and even shout it from the rooftops: “We are women—we still roar—and we gals have a proud and rich history of our own.”

Suzanne Braun Levine, former editor of Ms. magazine and author of numerous books on women’s issues, shared an insider’s perspective on International Women’s History Day in our interview on Feisty Side of Fifty Radio. If you ever wanted to feel pride in your gender’s history, be sure to give this a listen. (I promise, it’ll be well worth your time.)

Then take this feeling one step further and share your thoughts on the unsung contributions of women over the years. As evidenced by a recent article in The New York Times entitled Define Gender Gap? Look Up Wikipedia’s Contributor List, women tend not to toot our own historical horn. This is a huge mistake because history reflects those who write it. So stake your claim, be proud of your accomplishments, and make your voices heard. Check out sites like The Women’s Media Center, Women For Women, and Feminist.com. Contribute your thoughts to Wikipedia, start a blog, begin a women’s group.

Whichever means you choose to employ, be sure to speak up and speak out. That’s the only way future generations will know the truth about the remarkable strides we boomers have made. Perhaps the greatest contribution we can claim as a generation is our passion to ensure equal rights to all people—regardless of race or gender. Don’t let this noble mission get lost in the mists of time or be relegated to the sidelines of the past like an unremarkable afterthought.

Now, more than ever before, we boomers are called to rewrite history. This time, however, it is in service to our own HERstory. So let’s get busy: we’ve got to write, post, and speak our truth whenever and wherever we can. That’s the only way we’re certain to go down in the annals of time as the feisty and fabulous generation of women we are—and that fitting reference should please even the Great Goddess herself!

However (in one of Mother Nature’s less than optimal ironies) even as our self-concept grows, we begin to be plagued by those nagging aches and pains. As my friend Caryn Leschen once noted: “When you finally get your head together, your body starts falling apart!” For me, and scores like me, it’s my back. It’s prone to injury and anytime I’m under stress, the tension insists on residing in my lower lumbar region. So, whether I lift something too heavy or encounter a hassle-filled day, my back makes its presence known.

Enter Kathi Casey, aka the “Healthy Boomer Body Expert!”  Kathi is a wellness coach and popular author and speaker. She’s shared her tips for healthy living on The ABC Evening News, Fox 23, The Connecticut Style Show and even has her own weekly TV show called “To Your Health.” Kathi’s also written a humor-filled exercise book Get Off the Couch, Potato! and created several exercise DVDs.

On Tuesday, March 8^th at 8:00 p.m. ET, Kathi is offering a free teleseminar filled with tips and exercises which will include the #1 way to relax all the muscles in your back. I interviewed Kathi on Feisty Side of Fifty Radio; she explained the details and gave a preview of some of the techniques she’ll be sharing. Like most of my shows, the broadcast only lasts 15-minutes. Believe me, this one is well worth the small investment of your time.

It’s hard to be your best when your back is hurting and, for so many women in midlife, this truly is our time to shine. You don’t want to spend your days suffering from the agony of a bad back. So take Kathi’s advice, learn how to release tension, and tame your spinal gremlins once and for all. Sign up for her free teleseminar, and you’ll stay fit, fabulous, pain free, and feisty well into your fifties and beyond.

Those of you who are regular readers of the Feisty Side of Fifty already know about The Transition Network. This fine organization was created to meet the needs of women over 50 who wish to celebrate the second half of life by “channeling their skills, energy, and education in new directions.” TTN began in New York City and now has 11 chapters across the country, with 4 new chapters forming as I write this post. Members enjoy a wide range of benefits—not the least of which is making a new circle of like-minded friends, meeting in small groups to explore areas of particular interest, and celebrating their age with perspective and pride.

The second bird I’m stoning is a fabulous new online magazine called NYCityWoman.com. Yes, New York City is in the title and there are some pieces focused solely at Big Apple dwellers. But, by far, the articles travel well and appeal to women our age throughout the country. The title of this post and above mentioned quote came from just such an article. Written by Deborah Harkins, well-known writer/editor and enthusiastic member of TTN, “Savoring the Second Half of Life” showcases the numerous benefits of belonging to The Transition Network.

I was able to snag both Deborah Harkins and Betsy Werley, Executive Director of The Transition Network, for an interview on Feisty Side of Fifty Radio. As with most of my broadcasts, it’s a brief 15-minutes and I encourage you to take a listen. This particular interview just might give you some tools for positive change. I’m also excited to report that I interviewed Barbara Lovenheim, Founding Editor of NYCitywoman.com, several days ago—so be sure to check that out as well.

As you know, I’m fond of saying we boomers are “revolutionizing the spirit and style of aging.” With resources like The Transition Network and NYCitywoman.com, it’s a sure bet we’ll succeed. The pen (or, in this case, the digital media) is mightier than the sword and you can’t stop a group of menopausal women on a mission—so I’d say we’ve got two surefire ways we’ll be savoring the second half of life… and you can’t get much feistier than that!

A few weeks ago, I purchased Jane’s latest exercise videos. No longer being such a fan of “no pain—no gain,” I’m happy to say her latest routines are of the gentler variety—much kinder to mature joints, knees, and backs than her more energetic renditions from the 1980s. In fact, I actually find myself loving the workouts—and, believe me, my ardor is born from recent experience.

You’d think I’d have learned by this point…but in early January (as part of my New Year’s resolutions), I dove headfirst into an array of muscle-building exercises promising to melt the years and the jiggles away. Rather than deflating my muffin-top, however, these overly strenuous visits to the gym only served to line the pockets of my chiropractor. I seemed to be going to her every-other-day with a new pull or strain. Instead of feeling rejuvenated, I suffered from throbbing hamstrings and an angry lower back.

I was ready to give-up and give-in to my destiny as a roly-poly grandma when I spotted an ad for Jane’s Prime Time  exercise videos. Having a longtime history as an ardent fan, I decided to give them a try. That’s when things began to turn around: I started to feel better in my clothes and my middle-aged spread became much less noticeable. I have a wee way to go before Jane and I can shop for the same sized dress but, hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither were my hips. I’m aiming for late spring/early summer to unveil the new me in a saucy, warm weather wardrobe that highlights my newly sleek look.

So why not do the same for yourself? Why not spend a few minutes a day and become Jane Fonda’s new body double? In fact, if you help spread the good news, you can enter a drawing to win a copy of her brand new DVDs!

Jane wants to know how Prime Time is working for you. Simply share your story on Twitter using hashtag #PrimeTimeStories or tag Jane on a Facebook post with a video of your thoughts. And, if you were a devotee of her earlier routines, be sure to let her know how the new ones are working for you at this stage of your life.

To enter the contest, email me at mew@feistysideoffifty with the particulars of your tweet/Facebook post, your name and address, and subject line: JANE FONDA GIVAWAY. The drawing will take place on March 31^st so you’d better get crackin’!

Isn’t it time to give yourself the gift of feeling energetic and fit? Even if your own muffin-top seems to be stuck like glue to your middle, you just might be surprised at what a little time spent sweating with the remarkable Jane Fonda can do for you. Check out her videos and become a shadow of your former self in time for swimsuit season. There’s no better way to strut your stuff and show-off the feisty side of fifty than by feeling and look great. Hands down, that combo is a contest winner for sure!