HomeHomeApril 2000
Spring is in the air here in Minnesota--the weather's changing, and we're all feeling a bit more optimistic as our corner of the Earth slowly comes to life again. It's a time of renewal, and new beginnings. And speaking of new beginnings, Tina Turner came to town recently to kick off her "last" national tour. She sang for nearly two hours to a sold-out crowd, and her voice was as strong as ever as she belted out old and new tunes. Much is made of the fact that she turned 60 late last year and she's still performing. And why shouldn't she continue? She's a fabulous performer.
When older artists take to the road on tour, they often subjected to media coverage in which they are referred to as "vintage" or worse yet, "Jurassic"! Why do we allow this to happen? In the US, and around the globe, we're all facing the "taboo" issue of ageism. We expect our artists to pack it in after a certain age. Yet these same artists reflect our collective life and times and they are part of our cultural history. Why not support them as they grow and change in their journeys through life? We're growing and changing, and we face age discrimination in the workplace, too.
Tina is an inspiration to those seeking new beginnings and second chances in life. Her 1986 autobiography, written with the help of Kurt Loder, chronicles her rise to fame with her former husband Ike Turner. She was on the road endlessly in her youth, performing nearly 365 days a year while silently suffering abuse and humiliation as a battered wife. Over the years, with the help of her growing spirituality, she found the strength to leave Ike. Her career began anew when she was over 40--but not without a lot of hard work and perseverance. With the release of her 1984 Grammy-winning album, "Private Dancer", she became an "overnight" sensation around the world. Never mind that she'd worked very hard since the late 1950's for that second round of fame and fortune as a solo artist.
At that time in her life, she reflected upon ageism:
"I'm forty six years old now. A lot of people seem to think that anybody that age ought to be looking around for a place to lie down and die. Why is that? I remember Wilson Pickett came backstage after one of my shows at the Ritz a few years ago. He looked fantastic--I wondered why he wasn't still working. He pulled me aside and asked if I thought I was strong enough to "hold up" under this new success I was having. I said, 'What do you mean? I'm not sick.' I never will give in to old age until I become old. And I am not old yet! If I look in the mirror in the morning and don't like what I see, I don't accept that it's because I am an old woman. I do whatever I can at the moment to bring myself back to life. Perhaps a facial mask, a massage, a sauna, whatever I can do naturally to return the glow to my face. As long as you're alive, why not keep living as beautifully as you can."
Female artists aren't the only ones dealing with ageism. In the March 30th edition of USA Today, fifty three-year-old Elton John discussed the issue:
"They can't seem to pension me off. They can't pension off the Rolling Stones or Pink Floyd or Eric Clapton. I love seeing young people come up, but how dare anyone suggest that the Stones are old and boring or that Joni Mitchell is incapable of writing new songs because she's over 50? That's crap."American culture focuses on youth and beauty and that's a fact. Our cultural values (as reflected in our media) seem to teach us that our worth as human beings come from outside of us and are based primarily on our age, income, and appearance. Yet ageism is found in other parts of the globe, too. The March 31st edition of the Sydney Morning Herald contained an article about the problems found by those over 45 who are seeking employment. Studies show that jobseekers in this age demographic tend to pound the pavement over twice as long as their 20-24 year-old counterparts. Older workers are viewed as having "stale" skills and not worth higher salaries.
With the increase in longevity in the industrialized world in the past century, forty-five is no longer old. Neither is fifty-three or sixty. It's merely a second phase of life. If we are facing the possibility of living to 90 or 100, we ALL need to keep our careers going in order to support ourselves later on. To dismiss someone as old at mid-life is to miss out on that individual's wisdom and lessons learned on the journey of life. And isn't that what makes us truly beautiful? It comes from the inside out, not the outside in.
Obviously, we're not going to change the world overnight. Ageism exists and it's not going away anytime soon. However, let's begin with a small step---by continuing to support our "classic" artists--both women and men. (Note to Neil Young, who gave a stunning performance in Minneapolis during the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Reunion Tour in February: Please don't burn out or fade away! You're proof positive that we can keep on rockin' in the free world. Age has nothing to do with it.)
Next month, we want to continue with another taboo issue: women and money.
In the meantime, here are a couple of web sites for women that you'll enjoy:
One of our favorite sites is http://www.newmoon.org. New Moon publishing puts out a magazine for young girls and their dreams. Their purpose is to "listen to girls and women and celebrate their power". They urge us to support "Take Our Daughters to Work Day" on April 27th, and they are also sponsoring a "We'll Show You Beauty Day" on May 8th, which happens to be the day that the ever-popular People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" special edition will arrive on the newsstands.
New Moon publishers are fighting cultural images of beauty by promoting a national celebration of media images that promote healthy behavior for girls and boys. Their May/June special issue will feature 25 beautiful girls, aged 8 -14, nominated from around the world, who embody a definition of "beauty" that emphasizes good works, great hearts and activism. It's an exciting concept, and you can read more about it at: http://www.newmoon.org/25girls.html. Three cheers for New Moon publishers!
We also enjoy perusing this site from the Ada Project which focuses on "tapping Internet Resources for Women in Computer Science .
We love the Global Fund for Women. This group is "committed to giving flexible support to women's groups working on emerging, controversial or difficult issues". In the last couple of years, they gave over $3 million dollars in grants to 1,300 women's groups in 147 countries.
If you have questions, comments or web sites to share, let us know at tcallies@hotmail.com .
See you next month.
Teresa
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