I was recently involved in a discussion where lots of middle aged women — women over 40 — really resented being referred to as being ‘midlife’.
It really got me thinking because in Australia, the medium age of death for a non-Aboriginal woman is 83 years old. (For Aboriginal women it’s currently 73.)
So factually, once you hit 40, you’re middle aged.
I’m an optimistic woman so didn’t technically feel like I’d hit middle age until I turned 45 because I’m pretty sure (based on lifestyle and genetics — the women in my family live on and on) that absent any major accidents, I’ll make the big 90.
And now that I am officially middle aged, I’m really happy about it. I love the level of contentment I feel. I love the security and stability that comes with middle age. (I was peripatetic as a young woman.) I love watching my body change. And when the ageist voice arises within that tries to tell me that it’s important — as a 45 year old — to look 25, I know how to quiet that insecurity. I know how to do that because I’ve now had a good deal of time on this planet to learn such things. I’m not searching around, battered by the wind, hoping to find my centre of gravity. I’m grounded in myself and in my place in the world.
I know so much resistance to the middle aged moniker comes from the ageist narrative…
