Susan J. Douglas, Professor of Communications at the University of Michigan has written a book about groups like ours. It is entitled In our Prime: How Older Women are Reinventing the Road Ahead. In it she recounts how millions of women in the baby boomer demographic have joined hard charging, no holds barred groups who believe they are playing an indispensable role in the effort to improve the quality of life for all Americans.
And that definition fits our group, and the thousands of other groups both informal and otherwise which have popped up in recent years. Two things to note. First, Leelanau Progressive Women is not exclusively a baby boomer group. Some members are older and some younger. We welcome all ages and genders. But a large percentage of our members are baby boomers. And secondly we cannot overlook the great work done by the League of Women Voters which recruits all ages and genders as well, has lots of members in the baby boomer category and was founded in 1920. It is a role model for all women’s political groups.
The key point in discussing women and age is that some women at a certain age assume the belief that they have become invisible and inconsequential in our society. Leelanau Progressive Women and the other politically active women’s groups take a significantly contrary view.
Activated first by George W. Bush and exacerbated by the ascendance of Trump, millions of older women have become political activists par excellance. The internet serves to keep them informed and they have become savvy at dishing out retorts and criticism to any politician they deem deserving.
To influence these lawmakers they use phone calls, emails, snail mail, faxes, letters to the editors, forum pieces, fund raising and marching. And far from feeling voiceless and ignored these older women’s groups elicit feelings of empowerment for their members.In fact for many of these newcomers to activism, they have transformed their sense of self. Their long life experiences now shine a brighter light on the status issues which encumbered them when younger. These women now are free to dispense with the fluff and concentrate on engaging in healthy living, nurturing relationships and contributing to society. Most importantly, members work to insure better futures for their own children and grandchildren. And is there a priority which can top that?
Douglas also sends out an urgent call for women in the Baby Boomer demographic who consider themselves powerless and invisible. Instead of feeling voiceless and spending the precious remaining years of their lives feeling left out, Douglas wants to see them thrive with a new sense of purpose. And this would of course include women from all political positions. She strives to transform their notion of impotence to one of activism and becoming a change agent, and thus an active and important contributor in the unending task of making society better. And in the course of that participation. Douglas suggests they will gain a reinvigorated sense of being needed and making a difference.
The New York Times includes a review of Douglas’s book today. It is in the link below. And one other note. Who knows if Douglas researched women’s activism in northern Michigan. If she had, she would have discovered vibrant groups of older women activists making a difference. Wouldn’t she have been impressed?
Enjoy the article.