If you live alone, if your family is scattered far and wide, if you recently lost a partner or spouse, if you can’t afford the plane...
Feminism10
The Night of the Bras
GUEST POST by BARBARA MUDD It was full darkness outside. The spring air was perfect. I was lying face down on the edge of a dock with eight other middle-aged and senior-aged women doing the same thing. We were hanging over the dock with water below us. At the exact same time, we all put our hands into the cold water and began swirling [...]
Pat Taub
Why Aren’t American Women Fighting Back?
This weekend I saw the powerful film, “Women Talking,” about life in a male-dominated religious community, where the women are powerless. Sexual assault by the men runs rampant. Women and girls are raped in their sleep, frequently becoming pregnant. When their victimhood becomes unbearable, a few of the women meet secretly to weigh their [...]
Pat Taub
Making Peace with Our Aging Bodies
Currently I’m vacationing in Key West, where I’m surrounded by young women, parading their toned stomachs in midriff tops. In response, I’m practicing positive self-talk to avoid falling prey to the cultural message that rejects the older woman’s body, which is no longer taut. Curious to learn how other older women feel about their [...]
Pat Taub
Rest is Resistance
Tricia Hersey, author of Rest is Resistance, makes the bold claim, “Rest saved my life.” Hersey’s book was a Christmas present from my younger brother. We come from a family of workaholics, where our father labored in his office for long hours, while our mother exhausted herself with her endless household chores. We were taught that [...]
Pat Taub
Tár: Older Woman Musician as Monster
GUEST POST by JANET WEIL When I saw the trailer for “Tár” starring Cate Blanchett as classical conductor/composer Lydia Tár, I was thrilled. Women conductors remain a rare breed in that most male-dominated of all musical genres, where Western Masterpieces meet Big Money, and I had never seen a portrayal of a woman conductor on the big [...]
Pat Taub
Women in Iran, Ukraine War, Grandson Max, A Country Retreat & More!
Girls and Women in Iran The female led protest in Iran that was sparked by the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini is now in its fourth week. Amini was arrested for having some of her hair showing from her under her hijab. The protest has gained momentum, with men joining. The protest has widened to include economic inequalities [...]
Pat Taub
Childless by Choice
In my Zoom class on Women’s Spirituality, we watched the film, “A Goddess Remembered,” which put us in touch with the legacy of our female ancestors. In one segment, Jungian psychiatrist, Jean Shinoa Bolen, commented, ‘When I had a child, I felt connected to all the women who came before me.’ The implication was that until she [...]
Pat Taub
Beach Bodies, A Great Read & Streaming Series, Elizabeth Strout & More!
Beach Bodies As summer heats up (at alarming temps), more and more older women are donning bathing suits as they take to the beach, swimming pools or lakes. While putting on a bathing suit can be daunting as our bodies age, the Spanish government has launched a campaign encouraging women of all ages and shapes to hit the beaches with the [...]
Pat Taub
We Won’t Go Back!
Friday morning, I was driving with the car radio on, blissfully contemplating my summer weekend when my reverie was interrupted by a news flash that the Supreme Court had declared Roe v. Wade unconstitutional. I screamed in outrage before erupting into tears, crying for college friends who had back-alley abortions when abortions were illegal. [...]
Pat Taub
My Father: The Tyrant
I grew up in the 1950’s when gender roles were strictly defined. My mother, like most women of the era, stayed at home, focusing on creating the perfect home and perfect children. My father, like Don Draper in “Mad Men,” spent long hours at the office, mainly seeing his kids at the dinner table and on weekends, when he wasn’t catching [...]
Pat Taub