By Avia Ustanny, Freelance Writer 
CARLINGTON WILMOT, Freelance Photographer
MAISIE LEWIS smiles and tells us today that she turned 51 in December. The young widower, noting that her children are grown, says that she is just ready to 'live'.
She is seeking a mate who knows how to party, knows how to be spontaneous.
However, the prospects are not good. Neither her social nor her economic life is what she wants it to be. The society around her, she finds, thinks that her days of usefulness are over.
"They listen when you talk," ("they" think you know more than them), she says, "but, in terms of jobs, when you reach certain age you do not get jobs as easy any more. In anything when you get to my age everything is hard. Even (starting) relationships are harder. The persons of your age, some of them want younger women."
We know how different the story is for men who are described as distinguished as they get older. As men age, they gain respect, more job contracts and they also get the younger women.
WOMEN GET OLD, MEN
BECOME DISTINGUISHED
Are mature women devalued in this society? And, if they are failing to get their due, whose fault is it?
One female researcher with the Centre for Gender and Development Studies at the University of the West Indies told Flair that generally, in our capitalist society, women depreciate in value as they age. "In most capitalist societies, women who age are not valued. We are not as productive as this society requires us to be. Women tend to be devalued further because of what is seen as our primary abilities (child rearing and sexuality) in the sense that we are not considered as attractive as when we were younger, nor can we bear children."
She added: "Our value goes down but that of men go up because society believes women's primary role is in the private sphere. Because men are usually in the public sphere earning more money, they are seen as more valuable. Men's value increase because the older you get, the more income you are earning."
The researcher also noted that "Eastern societies such as Africa, India and China, look at age as a sign of wisdom. But, in the West age is interpreted as frailty, and infirmity. You very rarely hear society in the West honouring their elders and the problem is compounded when the elder is a woman."
Dr. Glenda Simms, head of the Jamaica Bureau of Women's Affairs based in Kingston, is of the belief that not only are women devalued, but conditions have changed for the worse in recent times. "I do not think we have made any progress.
"As we evolve as a westernised society we devalue women, even in the public domain. In North America and the Caribbean older women are not permitted to be the face of TV, yet we see Larry King (CNN) with his braces, and other older men holding the broadcaster's job. Among those older women who hold similar positions, are those who have to have several face lifts to stay in front of camera. Very few men need face lifts."
Secondly, she added, "is the big misunderstanding about women's sexuality. Older women are seen as having no right to a healthy, vibrant sexual life. If you are over 50 all the older men call you Mummy. It is not a term of endearment. They would love to get your money but they have no respect, you are not valued in that arena. When they call me mummy, I say 'I am not your mother and, secondly, had I been your mother you would have more manners than you have'."
Even younger women are in on the conspiracy, she added, "not realising that the sword will return to nick their own hides." Dr. Simms said she was opposed to the "way in which they pit younger women against older women. Younger women feel they have the goods and no one reminds them that they will lose it soon.
"By devaluing older women, younger women are made into a disposable commodity. After age 25 their value starts going downhill."
Younger women are also used against older women in the battle for male attention. Men manipulate the images (advertising) to their benefit. Said Dr. Simms: "The whole issue of advertisement where many of the people do not want to see older people is so foolish. Society is missing the boat because they (mature women) have more disposable income. They should be a market that is valued."
What older women have to offer, said Dr. Simms and other mature women, is their knowledge base potential and their experience. "The society should make sure they contribute as much as they possibly can," said the women's bureau head.
Still, not all women see themselves as receiving less of the social pie than they deserve. Author and food reviewer Rosemary Parkinson, a mature woman, told Flair: "Personally I have no problems. I find myself able to get along well with old, young, rich and poor. I have no problems with respect. If you are respectful to yourself, you will get respect naturally.
"It may be that mature women are not confident enough to assert themselves and ask for what they need. Self-confidence is very important. I am very self-confident."
However, Miss Parkinson admitted that, objectively, in Jamaica, there is a big problem in the way ageing women are treated by males. "There is not enough respect coming from males." In her opinion, "the behaviour of some women is not conducive to gaining respect. I firmly believe that if
women want respect they have to show it to themselves first.
"The dancehall culture, here," she said, "has never been and will never be of assistance to women in their quest for a change in image and status. Really and truly every door is open for us.
"Get to love yourself. If you do that, you will know the kind of respect you should be getting from the outside world," she concluded.
WOMEN IN THE NEWS
The media has played its role in cementing the public image of mature women as people who become invisible as soon as they move appreciably beyond the age of 40, say professional media watchers.
Hilary Nicholson, who heads Women's Media Watch, noted: "You find that women tend to appear in news more often when they are photographed than in any other form of presentation.
"Even this is not for all women, but for those who are younger. Women in the news are defined and described in terms of their physical appearance (and) men in terms of their occupational status. We find that there are very few women over a particular age who appear in the news. They are not valued in the same way once they are over a certain age."
Ms. Nicholson said that the most frequent categories in which women appear include articles on beauty, pageants and fashion shows. "In these articles you do not find elderly women."
She pointed to a survey done in 1995 and again in the year 2000, as part of a global media monitoring project, which showed that only one quarter of the women who appeared were 50 years or older. That is not representational of the population.
In the surveys, of all women who appeared in the news, more than half were aged 35 and under. More than half of male news makers were men who were much aged 50 and older...there was a category of younger men, a small number of whom were featured in stories about crime. "This is reflecting our acceptance of men as spokespersons and leaders. We do not think of women as the voice of authority."
In contrast, she added, when men appear in the news, they tend to be much older. This may be related to the fact that women are defined by physical appearance, but men by status, and the status of men increase as they age. "Women in leadership positions are not featured in the same way men are. Especially in the business pages, you get the impression that most business are dominated by men.
"You would never know that women are so active and they are, especially in middle management and senior management positions," said the representative of the media watchdog group.
MYTHS ABOUT MENOPAUSE
Menopause is used as a blunt instrument in beating women into subservience.
Myths about menopausal women are also to blame for the scant regard for females who are older, said Dr. Simms of the Bureau of Women's Affairs. "They are almost demonised by society. Everything they say is attributed to the change of life. Menopause is used as a blunt instrument in beating women into subservience."
The truth, she says, is that the majority of women do not have problems with menopause, they continue to live productive lives."
YOU CAN'T SETTLE FOR LESS
We give the last word to Maisie Lewis: "Because most of us are independent and we are not willing to settle for anything, men are afraid of our independence. I don't want a younger man that is being like my son. The men my age do not have what it takes. They are always saying that they have no money to help you with your lifestyle.
"I would rather remain single. When a man reaches my age and he has no resources, no home, he is not going to have one again. It's rough for middle-aged people. At my age it's about fun, going places. You want more all the time spontaneous things. You can't settle for less." 'Don't settle for less just because you're older,' says 51-year-old Maisie Lewis.
