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Baby Boomer Women at Midlife
by Dotsie Bregel
There are 38 million baby
boomer women turning ages 43-61. The sheer number of us is changing the
image of midlife women like no generation before.
Middle age finds us pondering how we’ve lived the first half of our
lives and what to do about the second. Some of us are in the grips of a
midlife crisis, going through menopause or even considering cosmetic
makeovers. Many are caring for elderly parents while parenting our
children and working full time. But don’t let that concern you. Boomer
women are reinventing themselves at midlife by choosing to follow their
passions.
As little girls we lived the simple life. Moms were at home caring for
their children and husbands; dads worked nine to five and dinner was on
the table at six. We jumped rope, played hop-scotch, married off Barbie
and Ken, and played with our Hula Hoops and Slinkies. Violence in school
meant the few boys who threw eggs at the windows of their least favorite
teacher. We practiced duck-and-cover drills and wore silver bracelets
with our POW’s name and birth date.
The first wave of boomer women came of age during the women’s movement
and civil right’s era. We helped seed the modern day drug culture, had
illegal abortions, and protested Vietnam while losing boyfriends in
battle. Some of us burned our bras and helped spark a sexual revolution
in the 1960s and early ’70s.
The second wave of boomer women benefited from the women’s movement. We
had greater access to legal abortions and the pill. We led a
metamorphosis from housewives to career women. This group came of age in
the late 1970s and early ’80s. We created the diet and fitness craze,
but were also responsible for ushering in a society that is more global
in its thinking while becoming more conscious of individual rights and
our environment.
In the 1960s, when some boomers were in diapers and others entered
adulthood, society-shaping events took place: the assassinations of JFK,
MLK, Malcolm X, and RFK; racial riots; Roe v. Wade; the moon landing;
and The Beatles. Woodstock, the celebration of peace, love, and rock and
roll, codified a generational divide once and for all.
As young women we were told the world was our oyster. We should DO
something with our lives. We should never become dependent on a man. We
were the generation that could have it all, do it all, and be it all.
Education, Prince Charming, families, careers—you name it and we could
have it. We chose diverse paths. Some of us aborted our babies while
others gave birth. Some chose the corporate ladder while others chose to
stay home. Some lived together while friends married. Some of us
divorced and became single moms while others chose to stay in loveless
marriages.
We chose to challenge ideas and reinvent lifestyles. We altered the
traditional role of the sexes as we played tug-of-war with work and
home. Believing the voices we heard, we attacked life with a vengeance,
entering the workforce while exchanging our roller skates for pumps,
candy necklaces for pearls, and wax lips for lip gloss. We returned to
the workplace three months after giving birth, pumping our breasts at
lunchtime. The societal expectation was for us to work. Our self worth
was questioned when we chose to stay home like our mothers before us.
Staying home meant we didn’t get a pay check and chanced missing the
next rung on that corporate ladder. We felt guilty leaving our children
in child care while our friends who stayed home felt guilty for not
working.
At midlife the 40s and 50s are no longer as old as we once thought. We
are more educated, spiritual, wealthy, and healthier than any generation
of women to precede us. We’ve changed society’s expectation and continue
to redefine womanhood. We will be the biggest and richest market segment
by the year 2010.
At midlife we’re transforming and influencing every segment of society.
With children leaving the nest, we have time to reflect. We’re going
inward, hiring life coaches, exploring, and finding new direction. We’re
seeking spiritual guidance and questioning if we’ve been true to
ourselves or society’s expectations. We’re searching for peace, solace,
and direction for the rest of our days on earth and the afterlife. We’re
seeking balance and pursuing our passions. We’re no longer obsessed with
being who others want us to be. We’re finding contentment in who we are
being called to be.
We’ve had more choices than our mother’s generation and have lived and
continue to navigate uncharted courses. We are pioneers in our own
right. We’re faithful, loving, and hard-working women who multi-task to
survive. We continue to better ourselves so we can help those who need
us. We come from various backgrounds carrying different baggage. We love
our country, but we’re probably not the rebels we once were. We’re
trying to be all that we can be.
At midlife we’re celebrating and reflecting while experiencing midlife
epiphanies. We are wise women who have lived, loved, and enjoyed making
a difference. And will continue to do so.
Dotsie Bregel is the Founder
of the National Association of Baby Boomer Women,
www.nabbw.com, and Boomer Women
Speak, www.boomerwomenspeak.com, the number one site on all search
engines for “baby boomer women”. Dotsie established the association, the
only one dedicated to serving the healthiest, wealthiest, and
best-educated group of women to reach midlife, to support and encourage
women to live out their dreams. She is a writer, speaker, and expert on
issues concerning her generation of women. Dotsie is passionate about
educating and empowering midlife women through her wildly successful Web
sites, including more than 60 forums that act as a virtual village for
boomers.
Dotsie has been mentioned in Time magazine and AARP Bulletin
among dozens of newspapers across the nation. She frequently does radio
interviews and appeared on The Early Show (CBS) with Dave Price.
She is on the Editorial Board for me* magazine and writes book
reviews for boomer magazine. You may contact her at
dots@boomerwomenspeak.com
or 1-877-bboomer.
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