Excerpted from Daily Kos 9/19/19

The older I get, the more I realize this offensive, casual, ubiquitous misogyny in our culture affects older women in spades. When women are no longer “useful” to men, in the most basic, reproductive sense, they become an annoyance, taking up space. The opposite of “eye candy.” Bothering more important members of the community when they should just gracefully disappear into a corner. Maybe babysit. Because “male” attitudes still prevail as “normal,” this disregard is carried out generally. Not only bymen personally, but in our media, ads, stories, movies. And in our politics.

In our culture, older women enter into a campaign, discussion or competition with a very real handicap: invisibility, dismissibility. Younger women, do take note. This has a great deal to do with age. Beautiful young women, treated as brilliant wunderkind while they’re still ovulating, learn to their chagrin that, as accomplished, bright, capable as they now are, even more than they were, there was apparently another reason for a lot of that admiration and regard. That seems to be passing away as they age.

The most experienced, qualified candidate of our lifetime is running for President. She is also giving us a master class in double standards, sexism and just how appreciated older women are in our culture. Not very.