I had a life-affirming moment today. While reading in a coffee shop between curling games I looked up from my book to notice a middle-aged woman sitting beside me with a second hand copy of The Fountain of Age by Betty Friedan. I am an age studies scholar today because of this book. When looking for a Honour’s Thesis supervisor at the end of my third year of undergraduate study it was suggested I read this book. I abided like a diligent, seeking to please student and spent coffee breaks and a large majority of my spare time that summer, reading, digesting, and making notes on all 638 pages. By the 638th page I was convinced. Ageism was real – and something needing to be conquered – and like Friedan, I was going to spread the word.
Friedan writes of an “age mystique” that is rampant in our youth-oriented society denying and distorting the aging experience. She argues we need to re-think how we do age – and instead conceive age as an adventure, a stage with possibility, rather than decline and despair. There is a compelling alternative, one that celebrates the fountain of age, not the fountain of youth. She chooses “age” as the core of her model of personhood, in effect de-centering youth in her version of an authentic self.
So, when I saw this complete stranger with my bible – I did not hesitate for a second to ask why she was reading it. She told me Friedan’s earlier book (The Feminine Mystique) had spoken to her in the 60’s – and now that she is older, she wanted to see if Friedan had anything interesting to say about aging. Friedan was the first to inspire me to think outside of the aging box to envision age alternatives within my own life and the lives of others. Friedan would find satisfaction her work is doing just that – not only in my life as a young, aging academic currently planning a program of work, but in the life of this particular middle-aged woman. Moments like these remind me there is a reason I am a sociologist and offer hope that one day my work will also rest in the hands of someone seeking questions my work might speak to.
Jpm2000000pmMon, 16 Feb 2009 15:11:50 +000009 20, 2007 at 5:48 p0201
I read The F M too, when I was questioning the meaning of housekeeping, family, marriage without too much intention in my restlessness. A lifetime later, at 63, past 2 marriages and still lucky enough to have grandchildren, I seek what is natural in the ageing process, and I hope it can be beautiful. I will check out Betty Friedan’s book. Thanks.