Embracing Elderhood: A Feminine Revolution
For far too long, the term ‘elderhood’ has been shackled to a narrative of decline, one of growing old and fading away. But what if we could redefine it with a burst of feminine energy, transforming it into a title that speaks of wisdom, growth, and a constant spiral of self-discovery?
In our culture, elderhood has been synonymous with aging, portraying it as a phase where vitality diminishes, and individuals become mere spectators in the grand theater of life.
For women, elderhood holds an undercurrent of something even more sinister. We don’t even become mere spectators; we go invisible.
And there’s a lens we all look through.
Our societal lens tends to view life through a predominantly masculine, linear model — the hero’s journey.
This narrative prescribes that one embarks on a quest in their twenties, finds themselves, and settles into a static adulthood. Elderhood, then, is the inevitable decline that follows; that shift into spectatorhood and demise, making room for someone or something else to take the spotlight.
However, life isn’t a linear journey — it's a spiral.
The feminine quality of revisiting and exploring aspects of our lives from new vantage points is how we learn, evolve, and create wisdom; we constantly circle back to see ourselves anew.
From this perspective, elderhood is not the end of the road but the embodiment of this continuous journey, where the path becomes more meaningful with each step.
There is a transition, though, from adulthood into elderhood.
For women, that transition is menopause. Menopause signals a new spiral that brings us back to a beginning of sorts. And with any new phase on our journey, it should be honored as a pivotal transition.
As we move through the transformation triggered by menopause, it’s not uncommon for women to feel our bodies as our own for the first time in a long while. This transformative phase into elderhood becomes a new story then — a beginning — where we reclaim our bodies, desires, and decisions.
But the old, masculine falsehood surrounding elderhood is the story we still tell.
Viva la revolution.
The ingrained, masculine, linear perspective of aging makes it challenging to see elderhood as anything but descent. But let’s start telling a new story. One that feels more feminine in nature and more truthful of women’s experience.
Imagine a new vision where aging is an opportunity to learn, grow, and challenge limiting beliefs.
What if more older women shared tales of feeling empowered by their elderhood?
And what if we knew that our lives could be more creative and fulfilling as we aged?
The ripple effect could be revolutionary — an elderhood revolution, transforming not just the lives of older women but inspiring and shaping the paths of the younger generation, too.
A feminine revolution, embracing a new idea of elderhood, empowerment, and the wisdom age offers.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to leave a comment.