Hags: Misogyny and the Middle-Aged Woman with Victoria Smith, Hadley Freeman and Sonia Sodha - 21 March London

[IwantToRetire]

Saw this by chance and not personally interested but some on FWR might be. I suspect tickets will go fast.

Why are middle-aged women these days subject to so much rage and hatred – frequently from people who see themselves as kind and ‘on the right side of history’? What explains the popularity of the Karen meme, which references a stereotypically privileged white woman whom everyone feels entitled to loathe? Why does this age-old misogyny feel so very now?

As writer Victoria Smith approached middle age she made her peace with her sagging neckline and having to cope with ageing parents. But the disdain and vitriol she experienced as a woman in mid-life came as a shock. In her acclaimed book Hags: The Demonisation of Middle-Aged Women she traces the prejudice that has been directed towards older women down the ages and explores the prevalence of witch hunts in recent years.

Join us at The Tabernacle on March 21 2024 when Smith will be joined by Hadley Freeman and Sonia Sodha. Together they will explore why women who have the temerity to exist beyond the age at which they are conventionally deemed desirable to men are seen as superfluous to society; and they will look for solutions which can benefit all women – whether they are hags or hags-in-waiting.

https://www.intelligencesquared.com/events/hags-misogyny-and-the-middle-aged-woman/

Tickets aren't cheap but some concessions. Also livestream which you have to pay for.

(Who are Intelligence Squared?)

Wow, that sounds incredible. Will livestream, possibly.

I've been to Intelligence Squared events, they're good. Oxford Debate style, in front of an audience. I can't see that this is that format although there's obviously an audience. I've attended livestreams and they tend to be a decent quality (unlike the British Library).

https://www.intelligencesquared.com/about/

Germaine Greer was writing about this decades ago......'The Change' :Women, Ageing and the Menopause' ( 1991) and plenty of others before her. Nothing really ever changes.

I've seen Victoria Smith speak before and I would thoroughly recommend.

Oxford Debate style, in front of an audience. I can't see that this is that format although there's obviously an audience.

Thanks, so normally more like two sides of an arguement being debated. But this looks like everyone agrees - or maybe not?!

I think what I was thinking is are they left or right wing, or just trying to be balanced.

I’m reading it atm and I’m struggling. A lot of the grievances about irrelevancy and lack of sex appeal can be equally applied to middle aged men (dad bods, dad dancing, dad jokes, gammon).

It’s a very angry and frustrating rant.

Our society despises aging, period.

I confess that I ended up skim reading because I found it repetitive and long-winded.