Dear Citizens of Vibrant Nation,
I come to you seeking refuge from my former life as a senior executive in a publicly traded company. It was a great job in many ways, as I co-led the first initiative dedicated to helping companies market to the men and women of the Boomer generation by a global public relations agency. I thought of myself as a demographic missionary, helping marketers figure out how to connect with the new 50+ consumer, both effectively and with the respect we deserve.
But despite our success, as a woman 50+ in a kingdom ruled primarily by the youth market and marketing to moms, I was amongst the last of my kind. I thirsted to be with my own: an entire nation’s worth of peers of my life stage, sex and level of education who instinctively know that telling me, “You look good for your age” or “You remind me of my mother” are not the kind of compliments I crave.
To make a long story short, I am officially taking up my new post as Senior Strategist with Vibrant Nation. I am a great believer in both community and the power of numbers—and Vibrant Nation holds the promise of delivering both.
This is no small task, as the media has tended to refer to women 50+—if they notice us at all—through the stereotypes of the past. Does “Help I’ve fallen down and I can’t get up?” sound familiar to you? And how often do you feel like you’re the only one in the world who has ever had to deal with an ornery adult child, simultaneous wrinkles and break-outs, your fifth or sixth identity crisis and the like?
Without a cohesive, compelling presence in media and advertising, our generation of women have become fractured and marginalized from public consciousness and each other—even if we know darn well that we’re responsible for the vast majority of the $2.1 trillion Boomers spend on goods and services a year. We’ve got the numbers to decide elections, we make our aging parents’ purchasing decisions ($100 billion/year spent on caregiving/healthcare alone), we influence our adult children and grandchildren. Of course, we all have our personal circle of friends. But imagine both the personal and collective power of establishing a central repository for our growing and impressive body of communal knowledge—and both the joy and relief of finding how many of us there are—just a few clicks away online?
I take my citizenship in Vibrant Nation seriously. As an academic (Ph.D. in Adult Development from Vanderbilt), author of 15 books for and about our generation of women (My favorite: The Art of Resilience, Random House) and most of all, as a member of this demographic, I solemnly pledge never to show you another picture of a couple walking hand-in-hand into the sunset, never to use type too small for you to read or so big it patronizes–and always to share both my passions and foibles as together, we put ourselves to the serious task of continuing to populate this amazing new nation with information, insight, tears, laughter and above all, honesty.
For more on the growing awareness among marketers that there is a vast difference between the stereotypes of upscale women 50+ and the reality, please see Vibrant Nation Founder/CEO Stephen Reily’s blog herewith.
Carol Orsborn, Ph.D.
ReginaLove, that is SO great to hear! As for soy, it may help with menopause symptoms -- it it controversial. The best way to use soy is in the form of whole fermented soy foods (miso, tempeh, tamari and natto). Non-fermented soy foods such as soy mi
Agreed. I never thought I was vain until I had a mastectomy at age 39. I was devastated and told the doc I wanted to wake up with implants. Now at age 60, I am lopsided and wondering if I was just avoiding the inevitable. You get what you get and you
Sounds very interesting.
Spike, you are awesome! Love your perspective, thanks for sharing.
Carol, I have been an admirer of your perceptive boomer work for a good long time, and look forward to this new iteration of your talented contributions. I’m also a former agency colleague of Dan, and have moved on myself to nonprofit leadership endeavors (which have a strong encore career component). I wish you all the best, and know that your voice is a powerful, insightful and important one for our generation. Kathy Bremer, Atlanta
Carol,Thanks for getting this going. Women 50+ have the economic clout to change the world. Now, they just have to use it! Here’s hoping Vibrant Nation will help lead the way. Diane MacEachern, http://www.biggreenpurse.com
Carol,
Periodically I have heard you on the radio and have always enjoyed you from both a personal and professional view (health care planner). Deb Levinson, NJ
Carol- if, as you say, you are going to treat us with respect and not with the stereotypes that so many others do, then please be mindful that we are all truly individuals and have different life experiences and life situations. For example, we are not all fortunate enough to have the “personal circle of friends” that you assume everyone has.
Thanks everybody. BAnn, I get what you are saying. Our generation of women has moved around so much, worked so hard…it’s been hard to keep relationships fresh. So (not but) point well taken!