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

by Susan J. Douglas

With a sharp sense of justice and humor, Susan J. Douglas confronts ageism against women in media, work, and politics.

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American female generation over fifty, Susan J. Douglas argues that these feminist boomers are again challenging outdated stereotypes, and reinventing what it means to be older and female.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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Womens, Psychology, Politics, Self Help, Gender

288 pages, Hardcover

First published March 10, 2020

About the author

Susan J. Douglas is a prize-winning author, columnist, and cultural critic, and the Catherine Neafie Kellogg Professor of Communication Studies at The University of Michigan. Her book Where the Girls Are was widely praised, and chosen one of the top ten books of 1994 by National Public Radio, Entertainment Weekly and The McLaughlin Group. In her most recent book, Enlightened Sexism: The Seductive Message That Feminism’s Work Is Done (Henry Holt, 2010) Douglas continues her analysis of the mixed messages surrounding women, and the struggle she sees in the media between embedded feminism on the one hand and enlightened sexism on the other. And she takes on the myth that women “have it all” and that full equality for women has been achieved. She has lectured at colleges and universities around the country, and has appeared on The Today Show, The CBS Early Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Working Woman, CNBC's Equal Time, NPR's Fresh Air, Weekend Edition, The Diane Rehm Show, Talk of the Nation, and Michael Feldman’s Whad’ya Know.

She is also the author of The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How it Undermines Women (with Meredith Michaels, The Free Press, 2004); Listening In: Radio and the American Imagination (Times Books, 1999), which won the Hacker Prize in 2000 for the best popular book about technology and culture, and Inventing American Broadcasting, 1899-1922 (Johns Hopkins, 1987). Douglas has written for The Nation, In These Times, The Village Voice, Ms., The Washington Post and TV Guide, and was media critic for The Progressive from 1992-1998. Her column “Back Talk” appears monthly in In These Times.

Douglas is the 2010 Chair of the Board of The George Foster Peabody Awards, one of the most prestigious prizes in electronic media, which recognize distinguished achievement and meritorious service by radio and television networks, stations, producing organizations, cable television organizations, websites and individuals. In 1999 she was also named an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor for excellence in undergraduate education. She has a daughter, Ella, and lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan with her husband, T.R. Durham.

Reviews

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan Douglas has written several books; In Our Prime: How Older Women Are Reinventing the Road Ahead is her most recent book and it's fascinating!

I was in the Washington, DC area and visited one of my all-time favorite bookstores, Politics & Prose, and saw the book on display. I was hooked within the first several paragraphs!

Douglas describes the tectonic plates rumbling beneath our feet regarding women's rights and how older women are expected to be quiet, docile, and invisible. Douglas has coined a term, lifespan feminism, where all women, regardless of age, fight for women's rights, particularly to change the future for women who will come after us. She calls it a renewed feminist tsunami.

During the 2018 midterm elections, 117 women were elected to Congress. Thirty percent of women between ages 65 and 69 are still working. Douglas shares many statistics and research regarding Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, big Pharma, media, neoconservatism, market fundamentalism, and women's cosmetics.

Douglas closes her book with a call to action---for women to create groups with women of all ages and begin the dialogue about women's rights and politics. She indicates that aspirational aging is about staking our visibility in the world.

Highly recommend!

[Kathy McC · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much research; lots of referenced notes. Research is used well to support points of analysis. Increased my awareness, although I didn't always agree with Ms. Douglas's point of view.

"We're also supposed to keep quiet about and ignore the muscular efforts by the mostly white-haired men our age-or older- to reverse so many of the gains women of our generation achieved.

"Our whole lives have been an experiment, doing things are mothers rarely did, or couldn't do. We are women who changed history, women who are still changing history, women who now need to change the future."

"Actually studies have found that children of working mothers enjoy a variety of benefits- economic, educational, and social."

"What if we had gender impact assessments, analyzing what budget priorities would mean for women? Japan, Canada, and France do just that."

[Dee Wood · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing & Sadly Political

As a 70 year old athlete, I was so hoping to find a smart, incisive & thoughtful read about the power of aging. This book doesn’t come close. She diverts from what should have been a focus on this unifying passage of womanhood, to cheap political slaps having nothing to do with this special transitional time. Don’t waste your time reading it... so disappointing.

[Graeme · Rating 2 out of 5]

Baby Boomer women are well-informed, positive, sexy, and determined to contribute. This book spends all its energy bellyaching about old sins, and the one chapter about how to make a better future is weak.

[Valorie Hallinan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a worthy effort and a needed contribution. Yet it was a tedious read - I didn't care for the sometimes snarky author's style and tone - and the title didn't match the contents. I would have liked to read about women really breaking new boundaries and forging new paths, but there was little of that beyond a list of the very famous and/or brilliantly accomplished on a few of the final pages of the book. Lots of data and statistics. A long chapter on media representation of older women, with lengthy plot summaries - nothing much new here, and I don't watch network TV because the same few, aging actresses such as Jane Fonda are highlighted. In featuring many of the cliches used in media portrayals of older women, it sometimes felt to me as though those cliches were being reinforced. A long chapter on anti-aging products - ok, we get it, but is that relevant to most of us who don't buy these way overpriced products? Another long chapter on Big Pharma - again, pharma's cliched depictions of older women aren't my top worry. A good chapter on systemic discrimination in the US - I wish she would have focused more on this. Some good suggestions at the end about how to bring about change, but rendered in an uninspired way, and nothing new here.

[Marlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first problem with the book is that "older women" means baby boomers. Despite devoting a sentence to women in their eighties running marathons, the focus is on women born after 1946. News flash- there are lots of energetic, active, sociologically and politically aware women born in the 10 years before.
Secondly, it's been done before and better. Check out This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism by Applewhite or Age Wise: Fighting the New Ageism in America by Gullette. These titles offer a broader scope and deeper insights on the subject of ageism.
Thirdly, the major focus of this title is ageism in the media.
On the positive side, the author promotes "building bridge feminism" where older women share lessons learned during the first wave of feminism in the 60s's and 70's with younger women.

[Susan Kietzman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reason I didn't give this book a higher rating is because I'm already familiar with the material in ninety percent of it, due to the fact that I've been researching gender for a novel. And so this was repeat information for me, and therefore not as revelatory as new material. Douglas, however, has clearly researched the systematic (and personal) oppression of women - and presents a clear argument for change. So, if you haven't studied this unfair and yet still prevalent practice, I recommend this book to you. The best part is the final chapter, which outlines action items for all women to overturn archaic practices and theories and to ensure the equal treatment of women of all ages.

[Happy Skywalker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susan Douglas's presentation of the topics addressed by Life Span Feminism makes me wonder why no one seems to be talking about these things. They're important, effect society as a whole, and directly effect so many women. I may need to go through this and take notes, I learned a lot.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great reminders, some good new info and some calls to action.

[Miriam T · Rating 3 out of 5]

The actual book was just alright, like felt more like a lit review overview of the topic than providing any particularly new insights. But the topic itself is endlessly fascinating for me and is so IMPORTANT.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last couple of chapters are what I was interested in...the numbers about women adversely affected by policies and what to do about it. The first 3/4 of the book is all about media representations of older women...OK, but not what was advertised in the title.

[Bonnie McDaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite part of this book is the chapter on pop culture's depiction of older women: Chapter 5, "Visibility Revolts." The Golden Girls, Murder, She Wrote and Grace and Frankie are discussed in detail. Chapter 2, "Why the Seventies Mattered," talks about the sweeping societal and legislative changes in America, and also discusses a woman I never heard of, Maggie Kuhn, the founder of the Gray Panthers. The chapter is summed up thusly:

So don't waste your time with CNN-style quizzes about who played Starsky and who played Hutch. The 1970s was nothing less than a major, national upheaval in gender relations that profoundly shaped the fortunes and fate of millions of young and middle-aged women (and men too), and it continues to do so today. Maggie Kuhn was paying it forward to us. She promoted a visibility revolt that had real consequences. Let's have a drink in her honor, and then let's pick up her torch.

In this book, the author advocates for "lifespan feminism," which she defines thusly: "which sees the issues facing older women as part of a continuum of concern, attention, and activism that begins with the well-being of girls and young women and sees feminism as a mainstay and resource throughout the entire arc of a woman's life." As this book points out, just because a woman gets older, and moves beyond her childbearing years, doesn't mean she needs feminism less. This is a well-written, thoughtful book for feminists of any age.

[Phil Mendez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been interested in intersectionality. I was initially exposed to theorists like Kimberlé Crenshaw who focus on black feminist intersectionality. I then threw tech into the equation. Sofia Noble Umoja, I learned, proposes A Future for Intersectional Black Feminist Technology Studies.

While this is still an important area to me, I recently realized (at Literati Books in Ann Arbor, MI), looking at the back cover of In Our Prime, I had never considered the double threat of ageist-sexism. What would an older woman's feminism look like and what are the issues it seeks to address?

It turns out there is a massive (subtle) political, media, and social campaign that enacts violence against older women. Douglas explains this is a result of misrepresentation, marginalization, economic inequities, and political aggression.

Her call to action is exceptional.

I'll just tell you, read this book.

[Mick Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

"In Our Prime" by Susan J. Douglas is a new sort of "coming of age" book that offers a context for the wildly contradictory messages women receive as they leave the shelter of youth to brave the storms of "old age" -- whatever euphemisms are used to describe it -- which for some begins at the ripe old age of 30. While most people aspire to continue aging as long as possible, death being unattractive to most, many view those who accomplish the feat as diminished. That's particularly true for women, whose value long has been associated with appearance, much more so than men, and who historically have been much less likely to acquire power. Experience is good, but wrinkles are hideous. Assertiveness is good if you can manage to be obsequious at the same time. In "In Our Prime," Douglas shines a bright light on a vast array of misconceptions about women who choose not to close any doors on their future prospects just because they've reached a certain birthday. She sounds a rallying cry for women to support one another in all stages of life, building bridges of understanding between younger and older generations, disintegrating prejudices while seizing both pride and opportunity.

[Megan O'Neill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book that really captures both the science and the culturally ascribed meaning of this thing called “middle age.” Susan Douglas’s exploration of the emotional, cognitive, and experiential package that, if we are lucky, we own at that time of life was fascinating and highly accessible. Really brilliantly written -- and provides an excellent launching point for those of us in “middle age” to understand where we are in our lives and push back on the roles to which we are assigned, the cramped or reduced expectations others have of us, and our own self-imposed limitations and push forward in new journeys that embrace everything we are. I just wish this book would be read by a wide spectrum of people from different ages and backgrounds. Afterall, we all aspire to get here!

[Rae Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Minuteman. South won by creating racist individualistic "freedom" culture in the west as south, so a coalition starting with Goldwater that proved to be a juggernaut, overtaking moderate Republicans, trouncing Democrats, restoring and strengthening oligarchy of rich property owners. Key moments: overturning fairness doctrine 1987 allowing the rise of Fox "News" in 1990s. Nixon southern strategy, Reagan's success. Bringing evangelicals onboard, persuading them to be against abortion. Racism, sexism, keeping underlings in their place. Main goals: cut and minimize taxes, deregulation, government out of their business, no support for needy, cuts in social programs, amassing of wealth for the elite. Trump took off the veneer, but it was all there.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great look at the effects of sexism on women, especially older women, and how ageism combines with sexism to make things worse for older women. Then you add race/ethnicity for some women, and they are really in trouble. Douglas gives a good checklist of things we could do, but until the wider world (men?) is convinced that these really are problems, I don't see how things are going to change, especially in the current political climate. Still, fight on we must. A lot of things in this book went "click" for me as I recognized them in my life.

[Carol Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring and enraging. Inspiring, because of her call for lifespan feminism. Enraging, because of why we still need to reinvent the road ahead. Because I have lived and been directly affected by so much of what she writes about.

About Maggie Kuhn, founder of the Gray Panthers in the 1970s: "She saw a contrived effort to set the old against the young, to persuade the young people that old people were getting too much . . . which not true .. .The Panthers' motto was 'age and youth in action' . . .she felt that intergenerational alliances enriched everyone involved." I heartily agree.

[Laurence · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot from In Our Prime — about how older women are perceived, erased, and underestimated in ways I hadn’t fully grasped.
Even if I’m not at that stage of life yet, this book made me pause and reflect:
How do I want to age?
What kind of older woman do I want to become?
What place will I claim in a society that often refuses to see women past a certain age?

It’s both a cultural study and a wake-up call.
Highly recommend, especially if you’re already starting to question the stories we’re told about growing older.

[Dhartridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lively writing,good book. Maybe rates 4 stars? I am not tuned in to pop culture much nor to high end shopping and fancy anti aging products,so I felt there was too much emphasis on those areas where older women either ignored or demeaned. Her summaries of how things like Social Security unfairly leave many hard working women in poverty make a good argument for the need for change.

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated her facts and details, however I felt in some parts she repeats herself often with his obvious and understandable anger at our lack of progress for women in this country and especially for the lack of respect older women receive especially in the stark contrast to the respect and space our society gives older men.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Arrgh. Lazy and self-indulgent, with little new to say and mere lip service to intersectional feminism. It did make me watch the movie The Book Club, which we tore apart with a very critical eye. More proof (to myself) that I am *not* a Boomer.

[Erika Kraus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book in the giveaway! I love the topic explored in this novel and found inspiration between the pages. I look forward to discussing with my book group next month!

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amen sister, amen.

[Hotbookgirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

[Nannette McNamara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skimmed most of this book. Not really my thing. Interesting points but too much about how the media portrays women, etc.

[Robyn Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audible

[Ellen Sherberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking for more data, less angst

[Beth Davis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dumb, bad book.