In Our Prime: How Older Women Are Reinventing the Road Ahead

In the 1970s, baby boom women began to redefine women's lives and opportunities. Now, that they are the largest American female generation over fifty, Susan J. Douglas argues that these feminist boomers are again challenging outdated stereotypes, and reinventing what it means to be older and female. This is a demographic revolution, and Douglas proposes that it's time for a new wave of activism to address ageism against women in all its manifestations.

In Our Prime takes on the cosmetics industry for its expensive products and anti-aging messages; big pharma for its images of docile grannies and puttering gardeners; and Hollywood and TV for seeing females over fifty as has-beens. She exposes the financial insecurity many face even as conservatives continue their attack on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid--and calls on women of every age to unite to combat gendered ageism and to secure our country's financial safety net.

Susan Douglas knows that you are not alone. She declares it is time now for the largest female generation over fifty to reinvent what it means to be an older woman and to challenge the outdated stereotypes--think doddering or shrewish--that Hollywood and TV have assigned them. She zones in on how the anti-aging cosmetics industry targets older and younger women alike with their products, and how Big Pharma ads equate getting older with disease and decline. Douglas exposes the ageism that mature women face at work and why conservatives' decades-long attacks on Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare disproportionately affect women.

With a sharp sense of justice and fresh wit, In Our Prime sees a social movement emerging that may help to create a different view of and life for older women. It celebrates Gray Panther Maggie Kuhn, who broke down legal barriers in the past, as well as today's activists, career women, actors, and others who defy stereotypical images by embracing their age and remaining strong and socially involved. Ultimately, Douglas calls on women of all ages to join together now to fight against gendered ageism, to secure our country's financial safety net, and to make a brighter, more welcome future for older women.