So the “disappearing woman”.. in France is a little older than the Australian. I have a habit of smiling at woman.. but in general its only those that have felt that they have disappeared that smile back..they are accepting and acknowledge the recognition.
..To those that have heard me go on about this and to those that have no idea what I speak of (frankly its close to becoming a person issue). Women of a certain age repeatedly tell me they are disappearing in society. they are no longer acknowledged or seen .. in an age where story telling and wisdom is found on a screen and not by word of mouth what becomes of our patriarchal women…???
We have lost the ability to see elders as people, okay.. so You know in yourself you have always been that possibly (i speak for myself) self opinionated, devil may care yet knowledgeable person.. .you know of the world and how you feel about it… it doesn’t change..You cary this from birth to death ...When it comes to women of a certain age,,, you’ve passed them on the street… they’re greying or not, they tend to walk more slowly or not and they even possibly don’t have the lover they’ve spent their lives caring for anymore.. or perhaps they do .. These are the women I speak of, these are the women that share my smile.
There is a loss of voice … there is a loss of recognition…there is a betrayal of the generation following them.. We have lost the civil politeness to recognise that not only do people have a story, its one worth knowing!
Ive told this story before at conferences and artist talks.. I was 20 years old when I met the most amazing woman called Di, she told me she had disappeared and no one would listen..we spent the next six years discussing politics and the art school (she had been a receptionist there) and those bastards that made her life shit..and then the one that didn’t.. I was Di’s hairdresser and her ashes lay under a birch tree in my backyard.. she taught me so much .. she came to the salon one day and played a recording where a politician compared themselves to fish…Yep!..she came into this wizz bang up market salon I once worked at (like super wiz bang )with her tape deck and played it to me..fucking awesome woman.. in saying that she was pretty short with the rest of the staff but looking back I know why they saw her as old and useless…. she wasn’t.
..so what am i trying to get out? .. has the loss of verbal tale been lost? do we shun those in our community that are seen as old?? How can we learn to listen? I remember James Newitts piece from years ago.. and it ended with a barn dance..Im sorry Ive forgotten the title…he saw the loss of story too…it was a grand voice…thank you.
and all this ramble from a shuffling woman on the street with a cane that smiled back..try it .. for me x