The Romance Revolution
The Romance Revolution Is the romance novel a tool of the patriarchy? Or exactly the opposite? That depends… Origins of the Romance Novel In the early twentieth century, novels for women provided messages of purity and refinement. Publishers were reluctant to run afoul of purity associations run by prominent men of the time. But then came […]
7 Things I Learned from Dating and Writing
7 Things I Learned from Dating and Writing Carolyn Lee Arnold’s new book, Fifty Dates After Fifty, has been called a “frolicking, racy memoir.” As a fifty-something woman, Carolyn learned that you must kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince—so the key is to enjoy the frogs along the way. And it turns […]
That Great Retirement Not So Fast
That Great Retirement Not So Fast At the start of the Industrial Revolution, early labor theorists saw the transition from small business owner to employee as a kind of limited servitude. When I read about that years ago it made a big impression, because it was clear that even as a professional, I gave up much […]
The Active Grandmother Theory
The Active Grandmother Theory We women, unique among female primates, live long past our childbearing years. There are good reasons why. I’ve written before about the Grandmother Hypothesis, the brainchild of Kristin Hawkes, a professor of anthropology at the University of Utah. Hawkes and her colleagues published the seminal article on grandmother theory in 1998. […]
Influencers In The Elder Ecosystem
Influencers In The Elder Ecosystem Word pairs are powerful; remember “outside agitators?” If the agitators are from outside, that implies people in the community are fine with the status quo. But are they, really? Or take my current least favorite pair: “young influencers.” If influencers are automatically young, that implies the old lack influence. But do […]
Retirement Till the End
Retirement Till the End Retirement is a lovely vacation that ends in death. Our exhilaration when we first retire is tempered by how it will end. Back when I was working, if I had two weeks off, I reveled in the first week and spent the second week dreading the return to the office. Even […]
