In Search of Older Friends

Why Middle-Aged Women are Lit

For a while now, most of my friend's group has been younger than me, but I am finding myself increasingly drawn to older women. I watch middle-aged women I don’t know well with curiosity and wonder to see if they have experienced these shifts that are still new to me.

Last week, I went to see the By Her Hand exhibit at the Detroit Institute of the Arts. The exhibit featured the works of art by Italian women during the period 1500–1800. Most of the pieces featured women in their middle-age years. But it wasn’t…