Thank you for delving into this trend and giving us some important context. There is a lot of power in deciding you’re not going to be invisible anymore. I am inspired each and every week by all the women who are older than me and still show up every damn week. They are not afraid and they are not backing down. I’m grateful to have their example as inspiration.
I love that you’re fed by that inspiration from the women ahead of you, Jamie. There’s something powerful about seeing what’s possible when courage and commitment don’t fade with age.
That’s very much part of what motivates me with The Pink Zones: wanting to find — and honour — those guides and mentors, those living examples of who we can become over time. Not as perfect, *anti-aging* icons without challenges or grievances, but as people who keep showing up.
And I love seeing how your daughter is right there beside you.
LOVE THIS!!!!!!!! All of it. I love that you are putting this kind of acknowledgement that midlife women are doing it for themselves....AND others. We are fierce group of people fueled by passion, deep wisdom, and a sense of service that I've always felt comes with the honor and privilege of being female. And, kudos for the Jamie kudos. She is a teacher in understated, clear, powerful "I-don't-need-attention-it's-just-the-right-thing-to-do" ways that inspire. me every time I read her or get to visit, every other Saturday morning. I'm very lucky to be a part of our circle. I look forward to it every time. xo
Thank you, Nan. I’m happy you took that away from it! There are so many layers to women in The Pink Zones that no single descriptor or stereotype can capture them all. But stories, like in your https://www.whambamthankyouslam.com/t/4-minute-stories are a chance to show and tell!
What an excellent post, Heidi! And I loved seeing and reading about the amazing and inspiring @suddenlyjamie. She embodies so much of what you write about!
Thanks, Cathy! I’m so glad that we all know the incredible woman inside the bundled protester. I also appreciate how, in your commitment to random conversations, https://randomconversations.substack.com/ you keep us feeling and believing that humanity is worth stepping up for!
It's not just women in midlife. We boomers have a visceral memory of standing up for each other in the late 1960s and beyond. Many of us are still going out there--or dissenting in here on Substack.
Yes — absolutely, Robin! Thank you for saying this so clearly. The sisterhood is alive!
You’re right that this isn’t limited to midlife women. While midlife appears in the title — in part because that’s where the current caricature and blame are being directed — I’m intentional throughout the piece about naming *midlife and older women* together. I return to that phrasing repeatedly (3x) because the "midlife" point isn’t a cutoff — it’s a continuum. Many things crack open at midlife: awareness, clarity, a refusal of self-abandonment. But I see the wisdom, commitment, steadiness, and concern for the collective often deepen as we get older. That belief is at the heart of why I’m building The Pink Zones — as a space that honours that long arc of attention, care, and courage.
There's no blame here, Heidi. Just a reminder that the groundwork has been laid. I think one of the issues we learned in the second-wave women's movement was that factional divisions between white and black, older and younger, and LGBQT+ leaders in the movement diluted our power and influence. The powers that be used these divisions as a wedge against us.
This time, we must find ways to present and hold a united front.
In my Substack, Releasing Memory, I say, 'I am the ancestor telling a new story so my grandchildren and theirs may thrive." And how we are using our voices more than ever to make and reshape history. We must not back down. One small story from the 2024 election: https://remembertheworld.substack.com/p/she-who-tells-the-story-makes-history
I was so enraged when I saw the same headline about the wine moms - this is the slant? Really. Reading your words bolsters what it truly is though. Embodied and consequential.
Well, now I do feel a little famous. 😉
Thank you for delving into this trend and giving us some important context. There is a lot of power in deciding you’re not going to be invisible anymore. I am inspired each and every week by all the women who are older than me and still show up every damn week. They are not afraid and they are not backing down. I’m grateful to have their example as inspiration.
I love that you’re fed by that inspiration from the women ahead of you, Jamie. There’s something powerful about seeing what’s possible when courage and commitment don’t fade with age.
That’s very much part of what motivates me with The Pink Zones: wanting to find — and honour — those guides and mentors, those living examples of who we can become over time. Not as perfect, *anti-aging* icons without challenges or grievances, but as people who keep showing up.
And I love seeing how your daughter is right there beside you.
An excellent piece, Dr. Heidi, on so many fronts! xx
Thank you, Rhaine!
LOVE THIS!!!!!!!! All of it. I love that you are putting this kind of acknowledgement that midlife women are doing it for themselves....AND others. We are fierce group of people fueled by passion, deep wisdom, and a sense of service that I've always felt comes with the honor and privilege of being female. And, kudos for the Jamie kudos. She is a teacher in understated, clear, powerful "I-don't-need-attention-it's-just-the-right-thing-to-do" ways that inspire. me every time I read her or get to visit, every other Saturday morning. I'm very lucky to be a part of our circle. I look forward to it every time. xo
Thank you, Nan. I’m happy you took that away from it! There are so many layers to women in The Pink Zones that no single descriptor or stereotype can capture them all. But stories, like in your https://www.whambamthankyouslam.com/t/4-minute-stories are a chance to show and tell!
Thanks for the nod, sweet Dr. Heidi! I'm ready for you to come and tell another story whenever you like! xo
What an excellent post, Heidi! And I loved seeing and reading about the amazing and inspiring @suddenlyjamie. She embodies so much of what you write about!
Thanks, Cathy! I’m so glad that we all know the incredible woman inside the bundled protester. I also appreciate how, in your commitment to random conversations, https://randomconversations.substack.com/ you keep us feeling and believing that humanity is worth stepping up for!
Aww...thank you, Heidi! Humanity is always worth stepping up for. 😊
It's not just women in midlife. We boomers have a visceral memory of standing up for each other in the late 1960s and beyond. Many of us are still going out there--or dissenting in here on Substack.
The sisterhood is alive!
Yes — absolutely, Robin! Thank you for saying this so clearly. The sisterhood is alive!
You’re right that this isn’t limited to midlife women. While midlife appears in the title — in part because that’s where the current caricature and blame are being directed — I’m intentional throughout the piece about naming *midlife and older women* together. I return to that phrasing repeatedly (3x) because the "midlife" point isn’t a cutoff — it’s a continuum. Many things crack open at midlife: awareness, clarity, a refusal of self-abandonment. But I see the wisdom, commitment, steadiness, and concern for the collective often deepen as we get older. That belief is at the heart of why I’m building The Pink Zones — as a space that honours that long arc of attention, care, and courage.
I linked in the article to a recent piece from The 19th that captures exactly what you’re describing: older women showing up, front and centre, in today’s pro-democracy movement. It’s well worth reading and circulating. https://19thnews.org/2025/06/older-women-front-and-center-in-no-kings-pro-democracy-movement/
Thank you for the reminder that this work didn’t begin yesterday — and that so many women have been carrying it, and each other, for decades.
There's no blame here, Heidi. Just a reminder that the groundwork has been laid. I think one of the issues we learned in the second-wave women's movement was that factional divisions between white and black, older and younger, and LGBQT+ leaders in the movement diluted our power and influence. The powers that be used these divisions as a wedge against us.
This time, we must find ways to present and hold a united front.
In my Substack, Releasing Memory, I say, 'I am the ancestor telling a new story so my grandchildren and theirs may thrive." And how we are using our voices more than ever to make and reshape history. We must not back down. One small story from the 2024 election: https://remembertheworld.substack.com/p/she-who-tells-the-story-makes-history
Thank you for this.
I am so glad I found your work here on Substack.
I was so enraged when I saw the same headline about the wine moms - this is the slant? Really. Reading your words bolsters what it truly is though. Embodied and consequential.
No longer being silenced. Loved this essay.
I’m so glad you found your way here, Allison. Thank you for reading and for naming what it is: embodied and consequential.