In the magnificent novel Instruccions per viure sense ella by Empar Moliner, the narrator who tells the story of Clàudia Pruna contrasts her husband's lack of drive with Pruna's productivity: “Perhaps this is the true difference between men and women. Women, past fifty, want to do all sorts of things. They have energy, they laugh, they laugh their heads off. Men lose all of it and some never laugh again. It’s like a transfer”.
Moving from fiction to a more prosaic reality, the observation fits what we see in book clubs, book presentations, conferences on the most diverse topics, university extension classrooms, subscriber meetings, all sorts of courses and workshops on anything. Creative writing, languages, photography, ceramics, painting, graphology, jewelry design, or tarot. Women are the vast majority. Also occupying seats in theaters and cinemas, especially if there is a dialogue with the actors or a film club discussion at the end of the movie. In debate groups, philosophical cafés, and spiritual retreats. On morning walks and Nordic walking outings promoted by hiking clubs. In spinning, zumba, body pump, or body combat. In swimming pools, during aquagym, and stretching the springs of the reformer at pilates centers. In biodanza, conscious movement, tai chi, or qi gong sessions. In hot yoga, bikram yoga, barre, aerial silks, gyrotonic, body balance, or sound healing classes. In gospel choirs and volunteer spaces.
Various European studies on aging show that women over fifty years of age have higher levels of participation in social, cultural, and educational activities than men. This is often interpreted as a result of very different life trajectories: after accumulating caregiving roles, women may experience a liberation that entails a need to reappropriate their time. Many men, on the other hand, have consolidated routines and need nothing more. Gerontology experts highlight that female aging can become a moment of personal redefinition, expansion, and autonomy. It is as if women are arriving late to their own lives and this emerging energy is the result of an inertia accumulated over the years, of an aspiration that can finally be realized. It is time to learn everything they felt they had left undone, to try what sparked their curiosity, or simply to make the most of the time they have left. In 1943, psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed a hierarchy of human needs. At the top of the pyramid, he placed the stage of self-actualization, which often coincides with a moment of certain maturity and is theoretically reached when all previous levels have been completed. It is a period characterized by a motivation for personal growth, a need to be. Of course, over the years, this theory has received criticism and amendments due to various biases, especially gender-related ones. But this stage of self-actualization that he described has been observed to have a greater incidence in women. However, beyond what studies say, it is an empirical matter. Meanwhile, marketing and the invaluable pressure of social networks continue to address women over fifty as a group concerned about wrinkles, belly fat, or weight, to whom they can foist supplements, creams, potions, and injections. But their intellectual and collaborative potential is underestimated. The administration, institutions, and companies do not take into consideration the cultural, economic, social, and driving asset of all these women over fifty, who are many and, as the novel says, want to do all sorts of things.
