Reclaiming Midlife: We are redefining the narrative.

What being a woman over 50 means today is changing, because we’re the ones changing it. We’re no longer accepting ageism, outdated stereotypes, or the idea that our next chapter is about fading into the background. We are reclaiming what midlife looks and feels like, and it’s exciting!

There’s a Forbes article that says women over 50 are the largest demographic starting new businesses. That doesn’t surprise me. Many of us have faced ageism in the corporate world or are taking our experience and expertise to start our own venture.

But this moment isn’t just about business. It’s about identity. It’s about owning the fact that we get to define our worth and design lives that feel good to us. We’ve earned the wrinkles. Age is powerful because we’ve lived. And we’re done being judged by how we look in the youth-obsessed world we live in.

That’s the freedom of this phase—letting go of the pressure to perform or please, especially for the male gaze. For so long, stories about women’s lives, beauty, loss, and even sexuality were filtered through a male lens. The Geena Davis documentary, This Changes Everything, on gender in media, highlights this beautifully. She launched the Geena Davis Institute to prove what many of us have known for decades: women were and are still underpaid, underrepresented, and expected to conform to narrow ideals.

When we were younger, validation often came through the approval of men—bosses, partners, culture at large. Everything from our weight to our postpartum bodies was judged. But at this age, we no longer need to live by that script.

That doesn’t mean all men are to blame. Things are shifting. My son’s generation is rewriting how we think about identity, masculinity, and femininity. I may not agree with all of it—but I respect their desire to dismantle the system they inherited.

And for us? The power is in taking control of our own narrative. We get to choose what makes us feel alive. We decide how we want to show up. We don’t need permission. We don’t need approval.

There’s still a lot of work to be done. As my friend Beth Knaus says, “Our grandmothers and mothers didn’t have the opportunity to make these changes. We don’t have role models; we are the pioneers.” It’s empowering and hopeful.

Ageism is real. But so is the shift. Something exciting is happening, and I’m proud to be a part of it. Even in our small circles, we are rewriting the story.

And that’s how real change begins.