What is the worst issue confronting middle aged women in 2024

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being dismissed and not taken seriously by medical professionals.

But this happened to me when I was younger too.

Yes, happened to me when I was younger as well. But declining health with aging means it has become an even bigger problem; for me at least.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not being able to purchase the bottom half of the shirt.

In all seriousness, I think it's sandwich generation stuff... raising kids in a time where very hands-on parenting is the norm, often while working a full-time job, while juggling aging parents.

Also, marital division of labor issues in two working-parent families. Many women my age (40) were raised that they could do anything and that has turned into doing everything.

I don't think parents of young children quality as "middle aged" they are younger women with different issues.

I am both the parent of young children AND middle aged. Women having their first child at age 38-42 is not rare in the DC area. Most moms I know are my age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In about 2-3 months, capri pants.

IYKYK

Yep

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve never had trouble being taken seriously by medical professionals. I know it’s a problem for a lot of women. I’m not sure why I’ve been lucky in this regard.

You may be: rich, connected, beautiful/thin, or part of a community that gives you status.

I was surprised when it started happening to me. But the truth is that women start really losing social status once they start visibly aging past childbearing age. I started noticing people's eyes glazing over when I spoke, even for short periods of time, like they couldn't be bothered to listen or like they assumed I was being dramatic or attention seeking.

I'm in good shape and reasonably attractive but not beautiful, and look my age. I think it's even harder for women who gain weight (everything gets blamed on their weight, they are treated as inherently at fault for all medical issues) but I've seen a real shift in the last 5 years as I've entered my mid-to-late 40s.

This has also happened in other areas of life. I can feel people becoming less interested in me as a person. Not friends or family but neighbors, colleagues, service providers. It's so eye opening because it also changes how I think about how I was treated before. I thought that was just normal, like that was how everyone got treated -- reasonably polite, decent service, respectful. But now I realize I might have been getting deferent treatment because I was perceived as being higher status (thin, attractive, UMC young white woman) and maybe now I'm getting what is actually "average" treatment. I hope it's made me more self-aware -- I work hard not to treat other people as I now get treated because it's demeaning.

+1000

I had no idea what kind of attention/privilege/power I was carrying around with my beauty until I aged and gained weight -- how I am treated by virtually everyone I don't know well drastically changed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you stand up for yourself, you risk being labeled to Karen. That whole label has silenced, middle-aged white women. Yes, there are some horrible women out there, like there are horrible men, but this whole Karen label has been detrimental to your average middle-aged woman who is not horrible

I never understood the young women who leaned so heavily into the term. Of course now the use has spread to engulf any woman, because the misogyny was always the point. I guess allying oneself with men is a tried and true tool of managing the patriarchy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. I think it’s the rise of misogyny as an overt political platform of both parties. Both parties are openly throwing themselves into misogyny as a winning electoral issue. It’s frankly terrifying.

What is the Dem misogyny?

"The progressive wing of the party has leaned in hard on taking the side of using rape and sexual assault as a weapon of political terror. "

Can you explain to me what this means? Cause as a stand alone sentence it sounds like you are saying progressives are using rape and SA as a weapon of (political) terror. Read literally that sounds like progressives are raping women, is that what you mean?


"The refusal to unequivocally condemn the documented sexual violence from Hamas and the silence of progressive women’s organizations (which are all Democrat supporters) on the issue has been extremely demoralizing."

Minimization? Like this? https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4345978-democratic-divisions-deepen-over-hamas-sexual-violence-response/#:~:text=Democrats%20have%20expressed%20strong%20criticism,on%20Israel%20%E2%80%94%20toward%20Israeli%20women.

and this? https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/14/politics/senators-resolution-condemning-hamas/index.html

So Jaypal, of whom I am not particularly a fan, saying that “I think we have to be balanced about bringing in the outrages against Palestinians,” Means she doesn't unequivocally condemn rape? Because it sounds to me like what she's really saying is "remember that Israel is being terrible too".

"The Democrats have also been leading the charge in eliminating sex-based protections and spaces for women and they seem to be openly pretending that women haven’t been terrorized for millennia because of their biology. "

We are being terrorized NOW by the GOP taking away our abortion rights. I do not care about bathrooms or prisons or even what's inside the swimteam bathing suits. I care about my daughters.

You sound like a troll. BoTh SiDeS eh?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reproductive choice and bodily autonomy.

Literally nothing else matters.

Middle age women are beyond childbearing years. So why does it matter?

Because we have daughters and nieces that we care deeply about, and don't want anyone having a say over their bodies other than themselves. Abortion is healthcare.

That is their issue. Not yours.

If we love them, and we do, it's not simply their issue.
We thought we were on the other side of fighting that battle for womanhood. We're now not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not being able to purchase the bottom half of the shirt.

In all seriousness, I think it's sandwich generation stuff... raising kids in a time where very hands-on parenting is the norm, often while working a full-time job, while juggling aging parents.

Also, marital division of labor issues in two working-parent families. Many women my age (40) were raised that they could do anything and that has turned into doing everything.

I don't think parents of young children quality as "middle aged" they are younger women with different issues.

Didn't know that the middle-aged women's club had gatekeepers? Was thinking it was a group folks weren't really fighting to join, but simply had to due to dint of birth age.

That said, there are a number of women who had children when they were older so can find themselves in the sandwich set.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reproductive choice and bodily autonomy.

Literally nothing else matters.

If we don’t get a handle on climate change - literally everything else will pale in comparison.

For me one of the biggest issues is imparting hope to the next generation while the planet is burning, western democracies have been destabilized and women’s human rights are under attack.

We are supposed to leave the world a better place for the next generation not leave our youth with insurmountable problems.

If I can’t control my own body, IDGAF what happens to the climate. If I’m forced to carry a pregnancy I don’t want, then I hope the planet becomes uninhabitable anyway. F’ everybody.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess for me if anything it's boredom.

No excuse for this really.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:violating female spaces? Please.

My vote - the fact that we have to keep fighting for the reproductive rights of our daughters and granddaughters. It's sick and pathetic.

You’d have a great point if the unborn’s DNA was identical to the mother’s. But it isn’t. It’s not PART of you.

[Anonymous]

Many of these issues are only problems if you're concerned about what other people think.
I have never cared much about whether I'm considered attractive, f--kable, worth listening to or worthy of respect, and the nice thing about aging is that I care even less with every passing year!

[Anonymous]

Being able to satisfy my spouse in the bedroom

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reproductive choice and bodily autonomy.

Literally nothing else matters.

If we don’t get a handle on climate change - literally everything else will pale in comparison.

For me one of the biggest issues is imparting hope to the next generation while the planet is burning, western democracies have been destabilized and women’s human rights are under attack.

We are supposed to leave the world a better place for the next generation not leave our youth with insurmountable problems.

If I can’t control my own body, IDGAF what happens to the climate. If I’m forced to carry a pregnancy I don’t want, then I hope the planet becomes uninhabitable anyway. F’ everybody.

You're concerned about being forced to carry a pregnancy you don't want at middle age?
How many middle aged women are fertile and having regular unprotected sex with men who haven't had a vasectomy?

I've personally always been vehemently pro-choice but I must say that I was only concerned about an unwanted pregnancy for about four years of my life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not being able to purchase the bottom half of the shirt.

In all seriousness, I think it's sandwich generation stuff... raising kids in a time where very hands-on parenting is the norm, often while working a full-time job, while juggling aging parents.

Also, marital division of labor issues in two working-parent families. Many women my age (40) were raised that they could do anything and that has turned into doing everything.

I don't think parents of young children quality as "middle aged" they are younger women with different issues.

Didn't know that the middle-aged women's club had gatekeepers? Was thinking it was a group folks weren't really fighting to join, but simply had to due to dint of birth age.

That said, there are a number of women who had children when they were older so can find themselves in the sandwich set.

Look I had my last kid at 39. But that didn't make me middle aged and it doesn't make my issues of being an older mom middle aged issues. But if you think which formula is best or what car seat to pick is a "middle aged problem" then that's a very interesting way to look at this age demographic and the issues facing most of them.