JARC PRESENTS
other women who were not suf-
fering through menopause. She
asked if the way a woman iden-
tified herself could impact
menopause — and if men had
a similar experience.
No research was being done,
so Ms. Friedan took it up as her
own.
She received a grant to study
"changing sex roles in the aging
process" and accepted a fellow-
ship at Columbia University.
There she was surrounded by
men in white coats who referred
to patients as "them," studied
senility and the proper time to
turn off the machines.
"Who was this 'them' they
were talking about? It was like
the way men used to talk about
women. And I wondered, could
there be a mystique of age, too?"
Ms. Friedan said.
Ms. Friedan decided to seek
out women age 50 or older and
see if she found them vital like
the ones who did not remember
menopause. They were easy to
locate — they were everywhere.
"I was surprised
to learn that only 5
percent of
Americans spend
any time in their
life in a nursing
home, only 5
percent have
senility."
Betty Friedan
"So much in the media talks
about the aging problem —
those who refuse to die," Ms.
Friedan said. "I was surprised
to learn that only 5 percent of
Americans spend any time in
their life in a nursing home,
only 5 percent have senility. So
why do we have this image of
aging as decay of youth only?"
Ms. Friedan discovered that
personae was created from dat-
ed research taken only from
nursing home residents. New
data shows most people show
no signs of substantial deteri-
oration until their 80s or just
prior to death.
Older individuals were dis-
covering new ways to love, to
work, to think about family.
They found purpose, projects
and autonomy as essential in
maintaining control in their
lives.
"You cannot diagnose and
cure age like it's a disease. It's
a period of life," Ms. Friedan
said. "As you become older, you
become more yourself. You don't
care so much what other people
think. You stop trying to be
anorexic. You don't get anoth-
er facelift. And you seem more
serene."
❑
THE OPENING NIGHT OF
The Great Uddio City
Music Hall Spectacular:
Starring
THE ROCKETTES
at the
FOX THEATRE
Tuesday, November 9,1993
8:00 p.m.
•
DAZZLING SETS AND COSTUMES COMBINE WITH THE
EXTRAORDINARY ROCKETTES TO RECREATE 60 •
YEARS OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST STAGE SHOWS.
EXHILARATING AND EXTRAVAGANT, THE GREAT
RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL SPECTACULAR IS A
BREATHTAKING, MAGICAL CELEBRATION OF
NEW YORK'S FAMOUS THEATRE.
TICKETS START AT $50. QUESTIONS?
CALL JARC AT 352-5272 1 WTTY
A JEWISH ASSOCIATION FOR RESIDENTIAL CARE
FOR PERSONS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
28366 FRANKLIN ROAD SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN 48034
THE FAIR MARKET VALUE OF THE CONCERT IS S25 PER TICKET
MICS 4206