Aging Stereotypes: Can You Be More Feeble?
The direction was clear. But I was unmistakably confused.
I glanced quizzically at the director. He nodded at me, not so much picking up on my confusion but more to let me know it was time for me to ‘be more feeble’.
This direction occurred when I was on set for a national commercial highlighting a new offer from a leading telecommunications brand. The scene called for me to be a 65-year-old grandmother driving my young grandson to a well-known mobile store to get three new smart phones with a discounted family plan.
Following the director’s suggestion to ‘be more feeble’, I proceeded to quickly interpret what this meant in the context of the scene itself.
An actor’s talent is in their choices. In this instance, the choice was simple. Embody a feeble old woman driving her grandson to a mobile store. Even though this was not in the original script, this is precisely what I did.
What did being ‘more feeble’ have to do with the commercial or phones?
Absolutely nothing.
What does this have to do with how women over 60 perceive themselves?
Everything.
This article and accompanying video are part of a new series titled The Invisible Customer with All the Money®.In this series, we will focus on how we, as women over 60, can begin telling ourselves a new and better story about what we can be, do, and experience through self-love.
They Are Calling the Shots
After the scene, the casting director enthusiastically came up to me. We have a longstanding relationship, as she has helped me get booked for other commercials over the years.
She said, “Joanie, you really are a magician at improvisation. Great job on adjusting to changes in the script.”
I thanked her and asked if she had any insights on how being ‘more feeble’ became the focus of the commercial, since it was not part of the original audition.
She took a moment to consider her answer and then bluntly said, “The ad agency changed it at the last minute. They’ve got the money and are calling the shots.”
10 Steps to Change Your Narrative
It’s true the ad agency and their client were paying for this, which gives them some control over the narrative. But what about the consumer with all the money? Don’t we have a say in any of this?
Let us look at 10 steps on how we, the women over 60, can reclaim our narrative of self-empowerment from decades of false storytelling in the media.
Self-Reflection
Recognize and appreciate the value of your experiences. Every challenge is a lesson learned, which contributes to the rich tapestry of your life.
Journal Milestones
Maintain a journal or a scrapbook where you write down life’s milestones, achievements, and experiences, celebrating every step.
Community Engagement
Connect with like-minded people who share similar views on aging gracefully and are openly supportive of self-love.
Engage in Digital Storytelling
Blogs, YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook groups are ideal places to share inspirational personal stories about dispelling ageism myths and setting new narratives about life after 60.
Education & Workshops
Attend workshops or enroll in online classes that help you learn new skills and empower you to share stories of personal growth.
Inspiring Content
Engage with content that challenges societal norms about aging, self-love, and health after 60. Consider penning down your own articles, memoir or essays that reflect your unique perspectives on life, love, and aging.
Engage in Public Speaking
Offer to speak at community centers, schools, or do online videos to share your experiences and insights of life after 60. Also, start your own YouTube channel and share your insights and wisdom to inspire others.
Challenge Stereotypes
When you encounter negative stories or false stereotypes in the media about life after 60 don’t just accept it as fact. Question their authenticity. Engage in discussions that promote a more positive and realistic view of aging and love after 60.
Physical Wellness
Engaging in physical activities promotes health and helps relieve you of stress and anxiety. It also serves as a testament to the vitality and vibrancy of life beyond 60.
Travel
Travel as much as your circumstances allow. When you do, be sure to share travel stories on social media and with friends offline.
Inner Empowerment
Each of us have a wealth of experiences, timely insights, and timeless lessons that deserve to be shared and celebrated.
By taking proactive steps to narrate your personal tales, you positively shift your own mindset not to mention help change the societal narrative.
The key to all of this is to remember changing your narrative is an inside-job. Overwriting negative stories in the media is about your inner-empowerment. This means you no longer give away your power to any outside influence.
When you tell a new story about yourself, you’re reshaping your legacy and inspiring others to do the same. For you are not just positively changing your own life, you are also empowering women of all generations.
I invite you to join me in the video at the top of the article where I will share five additional steps to rewrite the narrative of life after 60.
Please Join the Conversation:
How are you rewriting the media’s narrative of life after 60? Have you been told to be “more feeble”? How have you responded to such situations?
Tags Empowerment
I loved this article. When I turned 65, I spent the money from my very first Canadian Old Age Pension cheque on hang-gliding lessons and a crate of Champagne. I am now 73 years old and consider myself as capable as ever. I rarely if ever reveal my age to anyone and refer to myself as a “vintage woman”. “More feeble” strikes me as insulting to those amongst us who have seven, eight or nine decades of life in them. My tennis partner is 94 and I would never in a million years insult him with those two words.
Thanks for sharing this post.
Well it seems I’m bucking that particular trend….feeble me feeble, Friday I put up a ceiling light, I wired it up its not rocket science just common sense, hubby was an electrician back in the day and he taught me “just in case” I can wire plugs and sockets too but there’s no way I’d even look at anything else and then on Saturday I was talking to they young cashier said something to which I replied “I’m turned 70” she just looked at me with a smile spreading across her face and I thought oh heck I must looke dreadful, but, no she said get away I can’t believe that I’m thinking she just being kind……but she insisted that no way was I 70+ she even called her colleague over….lol I only just managed to get my head through the door…….I chuckled all the way to my car
I am not sure who the target audience was for that ad but I hate and don’t relate to ads that portray older adults as feeble. Give me an ad where they are busting those out dated stereotypes and I’m there for it. Good marketing plays to our strengths not our weaknesses. I would have loved it if it was the grandma who was rocking the technology and teaching the grandchild how to create their blog and tic toc videos.
69 here. Enjoying some me time in my happy place. I’ve always had a friend or hubby with me when I come here, but decided I need to be able to do it alone, as that may be the only way one day in the future. Or if something went wrong here, I need to be able to cope and assist my man or any friend I bring with me.
To get here I towed a boat, launched it alone, put car and trailer in safe location and attached trailer lock, drove boat down a shallow river, crossed an inlet, pulled into a suitable jetty with wind and current trying to control my boat, tied up, unloaded the boat and set up in off grid house. To get home I will have to do it all in reverse order.
I still have a brain and a memory. There’s been an accumulation of knowledge and skills since I was a child. I believe if we continue to use those skills we don’t lose them.
I also have found that learning new skills is harder now and sometimes it’s beyond me and I decide it isn’t worth it. But feeble, I am NOT. My grand children definitely do not see me as feeble.
To get here I have taken pretty good care of myself. I’ve watched others neglect or abuse their bodies and suffer the consequences I was able to avoid. I believe genetics helps, but so does lifestyle and luck. I believe we are what we put into our bodies, and how we use our bodies and our minds. I also believe we can’t beat Mother Nature. Checking in with her and thinking about what she designed us to do and living our lives with that in mind seems to have worked for me. I walk a lot, fast for at least 12 hours, usually 16 hrs and eat a good balanced diet.
Sadly one of the main motives these days is a determination to avoid being seen as a “soft target” by any of the young predators who seem to be increasing in number. If I walk and move like a young, strong person hopefully they will leave me alone.
But this article is about our age group being feeble. And perhaps that is statistically true. Putting it in an advertisement might sell a product, but I don’t think it’s helpful to women as we age. Their goal is simply to sell their product and make a profit. I try not to let that worry me. I doubt that such ads actually influence me, so hopefully they don’t influence other women. The worry is that they influence young people to view us as feeble and soft targets.
Gerrit, you are independent and enjoy being that way. This is inspiring.
I agree that ageism is often projected and tolerated by our society. I don’t understand why. Is it fear of getting old which is out of our control?
As discussed here, we can control how we choose to view aging. I don’t find many other people talking about aging generally. Often what is discussed are the symptoms of aging. How it feels to age is different for each one of us. What we look forward to has much to effect how we feel. Will I be able to handle the future? The future has always been unknown. Just because we are moving toward older does not necessarily mean bad or negative. Isn’t it the way we perceive our lives that really matters and already has mattered? That is the beauty of having experienced life. We know more about how to navigate it.