I couldn't think of anyone to slap this week (lucky me!) until about an hour ago, when I heard on the wireless (such a lovely retro word) that a UK publishing company had just launched a special series of novels for "women over 45"!!!
There are no words to describe how patronizing I think that is. I'm 57 and I haven't read half of all the books I want to read in my lifetime. I do not need books written especially for me and I don't believe other middle-aged women do either. What about all the Tolstoïs and Balzacs and Victor Hugos and EM Forsters and Edith Whartons and.... one hasn't read yet? One lifetime is not enough anyway. I've always hated genre fiction, especially the one aimed at women (detective stories, etc. have a place) and five years working at Mills & Boon/Harlequin didn't make me change my mind. Now there's a new genre - "menopausal fiction". Yuck!
Sunday, 15 May 2005
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Well this dovetails right into my personal fave peeve: Old Lady Fragrances.
ReplyDeleteI've been on my soapbox on this so often, people hide the box when they see me coming.
But anyway: I wear my maturity -- what I have of it -- proudly. I'm better now than I've ever been and DEFY anyone to pigeonhole me into their hackneyed definition of menopausal.
FOOLS.
I don't understand the reasoning behind the creation of anything aimed specifically at middle-aged women (or men), as far as the intellect is concerned. My tastes haven't changed since I started being able to think for myself, why should they be different now?
ReplyDeleteI hope I never stop learning. I hope my brain never has to be "fed" mushy, pre-digested stuff.