I don’t know what happened. I expected to get it in the mail. Where is my invitation to the ball? I get one every year. What has changed? I know I am no longer the ingénue or the belle. Those years are long gone. But I still love to dance and am very skilled in all the steps. I am good at making witty repartee. I would not be a dull partner. Where is my invitation? I noticed that my gentleman neighbor received his invitation and told me he is getting his evening attire out of storage. He doesn’t even know all the dances that I do but it seems he is a more desirable partner. I asked my older woman friend if she got her invitation yet. She told me in a whisper that I should be aware that women of a certain age are invisible to society and must exit the social scene quietly. For heaven sake, don’t make a fuss. Accept the fate assigned to you. Don’t rock the boat. Take up feeding the birds or gardening.
If your over 5o and even starting as early as 35 your prospects of finding a job diminish as you get older. Think this is a fairytale? Watch the PBS video below. Ageism is alive and well. Especially for women. I know it happened to me. From Harvard Business Review, Older Women are Being Forced Out of the Workforce.
This post is my contribution to Stream Of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. Featured image “Too Early” by James Tissot.
Notes Tied On The Sagebrush 
It’s a shame we can’t just let people who are able to work, work. Men and women of all ages have so much to offer. There shouldn’t be a line that you cross.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree. I think it is wrong to have an arbitrary age limit. It is important to all of us to be aware of our prejudices. I saw this article on Huff Post 50 that inspired me: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-this-tech-company-isnt-afraid-of-older-workers_us_56e09d49e4b065e2e3d4aebd?ir=Fifty§ion=us_fifty&utm_hp_ref=fifty
At least this is one company that is taking a serious look at ageism.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sad but true unfortunately.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes but maybe there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon. 🙂
LikeLike
This is the absolute truth! At least it is for the company I worked for for 21 years.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is true but I hope it will change and is starting to change. Changing attitudes seems to take a long time. Thanks, Joy. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
This was interesting because I’ve been posting about ageism for a few weeks. My posts were about picture books and how many times the older characters were either missing or depicted as poor, grumpy or infirm. If we’re sending that message to our earliest readers, it’s no wonder we experience discrimination later in life for just becoming older. My response to no ball invitation: They are often highly overrated. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes ageism is so pervasive in society. I tutor young children and have noticed their ageist attitudes. I know when I was younger I had ageist attitudes myself at times. Just the way I would react to oldness as being something negative. I think these negative attitudes toward age are put into us when we are very young, a type of prejudice. On the other hand, I did care about older people and had some older friends when I was younger. My ball is a metaphor for society and I feel older people and older women especially are marginalized by the main stream. Thank you for reading and commenting. 🙂
LikeLike
I’ll be back to read your posts again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is SOOOO depressing. I know ageism exists, as I’ve seen it. Gee, I can’t wait my turn. And I already garden!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, I wasn’t trying to be depressing, just a bit of a protest. And to say let’s take our blinders off. In my experience, ageism kind of snuck up on me and caught me off guard. I am glad that people are talking about it and I am reading more articles by others about it. Hope the attitudes have changed by the time you get to the age where you might experience it. Did not mean to put down gardening but just an example of defining roles for people when I think we should all do whatever we find interesting. Thanks, Joey. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was not offended by the gardening comment. I’ve been waiting all my life to be old 😉
I hope attitudes change, too. Old dogs can learn new tricks, and wisdom can only be earned.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Scary.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Older women need to look to their inner strength. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person