I think there is that really interesting irony in there has been this long history, like you say, of women insisting, we're the same. And yet the way we try to deny our bodies is often extremely bodily let. I think this kind of denial of the body, you can trace it back really far in terms of women starving themselves for some kind of religious transcendence or just trying to be considered equal. But actually, this denial is very feminine in some way. In the end, it's not really asserting yourself. It's denying your own growth.
Why are middle-aged women these days subject to so much rage and hatred? In her new book, "Hags: The Demonisation of Middle-Aged Women," author Victoria Smith confronts the disdain and vitriol she encountered as a woman entering mid-life. and she dissects the ageism and misogyny that have historically plagued older women, shedding light on its resurgence in recent years. In conversation with Hadley Freeman from The Sunday Times, they examine the societal dismissal of women who dare to exist beyond the confines of youth and desirability, rendering them seemingly superfluous.
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