Why Respecting Your Elders Is The Clearest Path To Wisdom
What is lost when generational growth is discounted
Recently I read an article about women being more vocal in their doctors’ offices. According to the story in The Sydney Morning Herald, women are speaking up about issues related to peri-menopause and menopause. No longer willing to just accept the challenges of the “change of life” — hot flashes, night sweats, weight gain, mood swings, etc. — women, instead, have begun demanding effective treatment options. Which is great! Peri-menopause and menopause can be quite difficult to navigate — ask any woman over age 45. And doctors need to offer real, effective treatment options.
Then I read this line: “older women have watched their younger counterparts interrogate the medical system and advocate for conditions such as endometriosis and PCOS and they are now doing their own lobbying.” This statement was from an older woman who is acting CEO of a women’s health organization in Australia and happens to be the daughter of a pioneering female doctor.
Um… what? Wait a minute.
I think she’s got it more than a little backwards. Those older women advocating for themselves are the mothers of those young women. Young women who were taught by those very same mothers how to advocate for themselves.
