The invisible woman
8.43am 13th March – 1000 words.
Good morning,
I have spent this morning reading papers, blogs, articles on women over the age of 40, I have clicked through more and more link on Google and I had to stop myself from going further, because the articles seem endless, however the information is the same, the message is repeated and the research is limited, and it’s limited because as one researcher points out, the data, research and interest falls off after the age of 49. Menopause seems to be a non-issue, research, conversation, and visibility around women over 49, it is not only our health (physical) but mental, emotional health that is not openly talked about or educated on, but finance, relationships, lack of identity, empty nest, visibility in the media, advertising.
The underlying message in the information that I have been reading this morning is that when women start to age, they become irrelevant, less powerful, as their body starts to change, their beauty shifts, and woman are past reproductive age they are less interesting and have less to offer.
There is a name for all this Invisible women syndrome, ‘Invisible Woman Syndrome’. These three powerful words describe a social phenomenon affecting females aged between 45-59 (more than 2.2 million Australians) who disappear from public view upon reaching “a certain age” in the media, film and tv, (Women over 40 are seen less in advertising, film, and television. Research by the University of Southern California found women were cast as just 26 per cent of characters aged 40 or older in 414 films and television shows aired in 2014 and 2015), they feel invisible at work, in families, relationships, society.
However, 49.5% of the population worldwide is women. A survey of almost 8,000 Australians aged over 50 in March by MevCorp on behalf of WYZA®, finds that the over 50s are well-aware that the commercial world ignores them. Only 12 per cent of people over 50 feel that businesses care about them and tailor products and services to their needs, according to the survey. This seems like commercial incompetence, given that there are 8 million Australians in that age group (growing to 9 million by 2020) and they hold 40 per cent of the nation’s net worth and spend $200 billion each year.
The woman over 40 feels invisible with society concentrating heavily on youth, young beauty, flawless skin, and bodies. And what a shame that is.
Because the other side of the ancient story is the story of the crone.
Maiden, mother, crone.
The meaning of a crone in the dictionary: The meaning of CRONE is a cruel or ugly old woman.
The meaning of crone define by a research paper by Joanne Sienko Ott St. Catherine University: The crone archetype as a pre-existent form in the collective unconscious that embodies instinctive ways of channelling wisdom, inner knowing, and intuition, guiding us through the transition of life, and going inward to bring forth the light for transformation.
Sienko’s, research found that the most significant finding was that the women affirmed their authentic self and trusted their inner feminine way of knowing. The implications of this research suggest that when women resonate or activate crone archetypal images that honor older women, they find a positive sense of self and purpose that ultimately can benefit society and integrate them into the culture as they transition through aging.
What if we embraced this stage of our life when we acknowledge our age, our wisdom, and our power. Crones in ancient times were revered, wise, mature, confident, understanding elders.
I also found this definition of the modern Crone: The modern Crone is a healthy, vibrant older woman who has the wisdom of a lifetime of adventures and experiences. She has done everything that society has expected of her and is now at a stage in life where she has gained enough confidence to step fully into her own power and finally imagine, create, and fulfill her wildest desires. She is sovereign unto herself and her status in society is hers to decide.
I love research and reading research papers, definitions, blog posts on women’s thoughts and ideas and what a deep morning of doing immersing in both sides of the invisible women and the crone.
Everything is mindset.
We have a choice in how we show up, if we want to, we get to choose. It is our choice if we become invisible, and it is our choice if we lean into this age, stage, and transition. At this midlife we begin to question everything, our health, wealth, relationships, career, thoughts, ideas, what we value at this stage, and what our dreams and goals are for the future.
Everything is energy, where focus goes energy flows. Our skin maybe changing, our kids maybe older, our relationships changing, but what an honor and a privilege to be in our life to experience that, to slow down and listen to our hearts, our intuition and to integrate all of our amazing life experiences, knowledge and skills and appreciate where we have been and how all of these amazing experiences and resources can move us forward in the future. To show up for ourselves and our beautiful life in a way we have not been able to before, to explore the world, life, relationships, career with honesty, the confidence of a woman who does not give a shit what others think of her, because we are deeply interested in exploring our own life, heart, soul and intuition and are not worried about the opinions of others. Walking through life with a glowing confidence in self because we have experience, we know we are capable, we know we have the inner resources to get what we need and want. Our intuition becomes our superpower, our own counsel is now a comfort and trusted guide. The mother knows all turns into deep inner knowing when we are not in the thick of motherhood. We have the opportunity to soften and tune into our true wisdom, be alchemizing all of the knowledge and experience from our whole lives into the wisdom others seek in us.
Everything is our choice, we can choose to be invisible, we can choose to shine with wisdom and be an example of the crone. We get to choose.
I also wrote about Imposter syndrome on my blog this week and it has created some interesting conversations.
AND after months and months of having the calendar in my Calendly events. I have started Wednesday coffee.
I have 6 20 minute sessions available every Wednesday for a coffee and a chat. It can be a quick pop in and say hi, if you want to book regularly it can be accountability. It is a little bit more than a chat in DM’s and less than a full on mentoring session. I have already booked 4 sessions. My intention is for them to be a place of connection, casual conversations on anything around creativity, business, clarity, accountability, motherhood. Truly, whatever comes up in the flow of conversations. I have been told already they make NO business sense at all because they are the price of coffee and cake - $9.99. I just feel there is a need for connection, conversation, and I want to talk to more women and have interesting topics to talk about.
If you would like a chat on a Wednesday morning, book in the link below, it can be a one off, it can be regularly it’s up to you, I am offering the time and space and am looking forward to chatting.
Have a beautiful day
Melinda