36 years ago I became a feminist after finding a poster listing many reasons a hormonal young woman like me should be angry. Top of the list was how what we look like as a woman is more important than what we do.
My mum said “I needed to watch that stuff as I might not get a boyfriend” but sadly she got that one wrong and I got involved with many tossers along the way. To be fair I was pretty dreadful too and I needed those lessons on my journey. Unbelievably, considering I don’t believe in fairytales, I’m marrying my prince next Saturday but that’s another story……
So what exactly has changed over these past 36 years that seem to have passed in a flash? Despite the rallying cry for girl power from the Spice Girls and two female prime ministers - all of which did fuck all for feminism or the sisterhood - has anything got better? It really pissed me off today on Instagram to see a post with Sarah Jessica Parker and Cynthia Nixon filming the spin-off for Sex and the City with comment upon comment upon comment underneath about their ageing process and how they looked. Beautiful in my opinion but that isn’t important or the point not too mention savvy and successful too. How shitty that we are still judged for this after all those years.
Sadly so many women our age buy into this. How many of us over 50 have our pet, our kid or a plant pot as our social media picture - come on sisters we can do better. Can we be the change we want to see? Don’t get me wrong I’ve fallen for spending way too much money on fancy face creams upon occasion wildly optimistic that I might undo the ravages of drinking and drugging too much in my hedonistic twenties and thirties.
This is me. My face tells my story and I wouldn’t change it for all the tea in China, or ecstasy in Hackney for that matter. As a menopausal woman my hormones are not dissimilar to my angry teenage self but I’m so much wiser some days and forgive myself when I’m not. Come join me for super yummy yoga for menopause and sisterhood in Southampton.