Friday, August 1, 2014

A Woman of a Certain Age

Isn't it interesting how we sterotype women?  Especially the young and the old.  The young are often characterized as slutty or as boring;  the old as cougars or spinsters.  We have perceived notions of how women should dress and act if they are of a certain age.

I am interested in where this comes from.  After all, these sterotypical descriptions come from somewhere.  I think we often use them because we are lazy.  That is, we want to decide about people without looking further than our initial viewpoint.  She wore a tight, short, revealing dress.  She must be an 'easy' woman.  She crochets and wears unstylish dress.  She must be grandma.  Or the reverse;  she's a grandma so she must crochet, dress poorly, be uninterested in anything but grandchildren and gossiping about the neighbors.  She's young and advancing rapidly and wears a lot of glitz and glam so she must be sleeping her way to the top.

I've always tried to think about people with an open mind.  No matter how they are dressed or act in my initial encounter I try not to judge.  I know that I fail.  But I try.

Imagine my thoughts as I look back over my life and see the stereotypes I could be slotted into at different ages.

Then there is my now.  I am a grandmother.  I am retired from a very technical and successful career.  the most important thing in my life right now is those grandchildren.  And I crochet.  Doiles no less.  Its nice to know that in spite of my striving to battle stereotypes I am one.  I am a woman of a certain age.


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