Girl Power - a good thing or a toxic thing?

She2.0 Podcast

The other week I scrolled through one of my favourite newsletters and came across an image of Kate and Meghan. I am so over the royal family and their war. And just as I was about to carry on, the headline hit me. “The ugly truth about girl power’. Wow. I always thought girl power was a good thing.

So how does this relate to aging and menopause? As I read quite a few articles online about menopause and how the author/journalist felt about the experience, I expected to read words of support and encouragement in the comments section. You know – girl ‘power’. Not so. In fact, not at all!

I reached out to Monica, the author of the newsletter that caught my eye, and I wanted her take. Why do women do this to each other? Is it our fault or have we been positioned like this by society and the patriarch? This is a time when we should be supporting each other so what gives?

MONICA CORCORAN HAREL is a journalist, screenwriter, and the founder of PRETTY RIPE, If you haven’t heard of it, you’ll want to subscribe right away like I did. Pretty Ripe is a multi-media platform for women (proudly) over 40. Monica is a self-described I “midlife midwife,” easing women over 40 into middle age. As a journalist who’s written for The New York Times for over 20 years, Monice brings research and reporting to all her content.

She has been profiled in WWD and quoted in Time and InStyle. She also writes about beauty, fashion, midlife and the culture of modern women for The New York Times, New York Magazine, and The Hollywood Reporter. She has moderated programming for South by Southwest (SXSW), The Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Soho House—and created award-winning content for companies like Estee Lauder and Morgan Stanley.

Monica’s first feature film about two middle-aged women who swap bodies with Gen Z influencers is set up at Netflix with Eva Longoria attached to star and direct. She is currently adapting her magazine essay “My Mom Has No Friends” into a sitcom for 20th Television and Mandy Moore. She lives in L.A. with her family and really loves being an “older woman.”