Two segments look at the experience of “women of a certain age” in a culture obsessed with eternal youth.
Lily Iona McKenzie joins me to talk about her rich journey from high school dropout and teenage mom in Alberta to author, writing teacher and labor leader in San Francisco, with forays into longshore work, waitressing and everything in between. Her first novel, Fling, is a twist on the traditional “coming of age” story, asking whether women can come of age at 60, or even 90.
And I speak with New York Times reporter Patti Cohen, whose recent article, “Over 50, Female and Jobless” looked at the struggles of women over 50 to find jobs, even as the general employment picture improves. Patti covers economics for the times and is the author of the book In Our Prime: The Invention of Middle Age.
We also listen to a bit of Davey D’s interview with Alicia of Black Seed: Queer Liberation Collective, which organized the Bay Bridge shutdown last Monday.