Is there a right or wrong way to age as a female? Why are some of us so scared of the very thought of it?
Australian media personality Melissa Doyle and her film producer friend Naima Brown explore these questions in their podcast Age Against the Machine.
Too many women feel undervalued and invisible after the age of 50, the pair say. They speak to women around the world about the pressures they feel or don't feel as they age.
Melissa Doyle and Naima Brown - hosts of the podcast Age Against The Machine Photo: via elliwomen.com.au
When Melissa Doyle was about to turn 50, many people asked her how she felt about it and seemed to expect she'd be apprehensive.
Yet Doyle says she loved reaching that milestone.
"I'm one of the lucky ones. I'm healthy and I'm strong, I'm loved and I love. I can do all the things I want to do at this point of my life."
Yet many other women told Doyle and Brown they felt 'invisible' as they aged.
Talking to women around the world, a sense of authority seemed to be the most valuable safeguard against this perceived sense of irrelevance, Doyle says.
"In countries where women are in leadership roles - official or unofficial - it gave them a role where their worth became more than their looks or their contribution to populating the earth."
The degree to which women accept or even embrace ageing seems to boil down to whether or not she sees herself as becoming 'elderly' or becoming an 'elder', Doyle says.
Deirdre Nehua Photo: via E-Tangata
Māori activist Deirdre Nehua, who is now in her 70s, doesn't hesitate to describe herself as an elder, Brown adds.
"She knows exactly what her place and her role is in her family, in her community, in her country, in her culture. She knows what's expected of her and what she's offering and what her value is."
Oriini Kaipara - the first TVNZ presenter with a Māori facial tattoo - told Age Against the Machine that she couldn't imagine spending her hard-earned money on the scam of anti-ageing
How a woman approaches her own signs of ageing is up to the individual, Doyle says.
"Whether you embrace or not, whether you choose to let your wrinkles and greys come through and not touch a thing or go in the opposite direction there's no right or wrong way, there's no template."
Race, degree of privilege, relationship status and health will greatly contribute to how much ageing affects an individual woman's circumstances, Doyle says.
Those over 50 who have financial security should advocate for their female age-mates who face greater practical challenges, she says.
"[Those of us who have a platform] need to make sure we use our voice and our strength for our sisters because they're the ones who fall between the cracks and experience invisibility far more than someone who is in a comfortable circumstance."
