The Musings & Ponderings of Stella (And Friends)

composite of an actress and roll of cine film with woman thinking for blog post You Should be in Movies
Stella Fosse

You Should Be in Movies.

You Should Be in Movies. Better Yet, Write Them. Every story an older woman writes changes her and changes the culture. And because of the huge reach that movies have, when we write movie scripts, we can make even more change happen. The Writer’s Lab is an annual retreat established by Meryl Streep and supported by Oprah Winfrey and Nicole Kidman. Only women over forty can submit screenplay drafts to the Lab. It’s aligned with

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text 'Love is in the Air' superimposed on rainbow umbrella used for article 'Pan Means Pan - Falling In Love with the Universe'
Stella Fosse

Pan Means Pan – Falling In Love with the Universe

Pan Means Pan – Falling In Love with the Universe I read a biography of a movie star from the 1940s, written by her daughter, who said her mother fell in love, not only with men and women, but also with trees, kittens, boulders and stars. This actress was in love with life, and more than that, in love with all existence. I have also read several recent articles that celebrate pansexuality, defining it as

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By Any Other Name: The Words We Call Ourselves
Stella Fosse

By Any Other Name: The Words We Call Ourselves

By Any Other Name: The Words We Call Ourselves When I write about the creative joy of women after midlife, one challenge is just what to call our cohort of women. When I wrote Aphrodite’s Pen: The Power of Writing Erotica After Midlife, I looked at how other authors name us, and found no consensus. “Juicy Crones,” “Wise Women,” “Women Past Midlife,” “Women Growing Bolder,” “Ripe Women,” “Ageless,” “Seasoned Women,” all have their adherents. There

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Stella Fosse's Books & Stories
Stella Fosse

Book Club Reading Guide for Aphrodite’s Pen

Reading Guide for Aphrodite’s Pen Download PDF Version In the Introduction to Aphrodite’s Pen, Stella says it is important for older women to write erotica as a way to combat ageism.  Do you agree or disagree with the author on this point?  Did your opinion change as you read, and if so, how? The book combines writing activities, interviews with writers, and samples of their work. Did you learn skills from the activities that you

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background with oil strip and silhouette of male and female
Stella Fosse

See It Then Be It

See It Then Be It Geena Davis did not worry about all those stories of movie roles drying up for women in their forties, until it was her turn. After making a movie every year throughout her career, and starring in huge box office hits like Thelma and Louise and A League of Their Own, the actress made one movie in all of her forties. Just one. And, she says, it was not because she was

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Woman lifting weights wearing t-shirt with words 'stronger than ordinary'
Stella Fosse

Power and Madam Pelosi

Power and Madam Pelosi We watched with interest as Nancy Pelosi fought to regain her role as House  Speaker when the Democrats took the House after the November 2018 election. Congresswoman Pelosi is part of a generation of older leaders in government, including Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. No matter what we think of their politics, it is clear that Pelosi’s age is brought up more frequently as a reason for her to step aside

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