Guest Experts
Here's where you'll find articles on a wide range of topics by various experts.
Guest Archives
The NYC Insiders Guide
for women who aren't kids
Home / Archives / Experts / NYC Nightlife / NYC Shopping / NYC Restaurants/ Food&Recipes / Reviews / Events / Books&Movies / About Us
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
|
 |
|
||
Debbie Zipp, actress, producer and co-founder of
IN THE TRENCHES PRODUCTIONS.COM , the first entertainment network for Women Over 40 on the Web. ITTP markets to an ignored audience with its original films and a variety of original series that star women over 40 and are solely produced by In The Trenches Productions.
This is the site for the multi-tasking woman looking for an upbeat break in her day.
Award-winning films offer a funny commentary on life after 40, or a satirical look
at the economic downturn, or a commercial spoof on the obsession with looking
forever young. The series episodes provide inspirational tips on sprucing up the
garden or whipping up tasty treats or life lessons from the heart.
So sit back, relax, kick off your shoes and take a break today.
Your Inner Whistle
Debbie Zipp
CO-Founder, In The Trenches Productions
Okay, okay, I'm going to make a bold statement. I admit it – I’m over 50 now, yes I am. It is a hard pill to swallow. But I'm getting there and am starting to get comfortable with it. I used to hate walking down a street and getting whistles from the men around me.
And don’t get me wrong, there were never hundreds, but I got my share. BUT...and again I hate to admit it but…when the whistles started disappearing and finally stopped
altogether, I missed them. I missed them…I really, really missed them.
"What's going on?" "What's happening?" So I looked in the mirror. I mean REALLY looked in the mirror and I didn't see the “me” I thought I was. "Who is that?" I said. Where did that young woman go? Where did I go? Who is that in the mirror? EEEgads,
that's my mother! But she is back in Kansas. Oh my God I look like my mother. Now my mother is beautiful and I adore my mother but... looking middle –aged was going to take some getting used to. I’m still trying to get used to it.
Was the lack of whistles from the outside making me question my worth because I was aging? I saw myself one way, but the world obviously saw me a different way, or didn’t see me at all. It wasn't just the bruised ego (okay I admit it ---I'm vain) but it was something much more important and elemental. My purpose. The acting career that I loved 30 years took a BIG hit. My ability to pay my bills …my mere survival was at risk.
Just as the whistles slowly disappeared the opportunities for work started to fade away as well. Who perpetuates this?! Hmmm….Let me think. The Media. The entertainment industry is obsessed with youth and looks. What happens in the entertainment industry is just a microcosm of what happens to women everywhere it just hits women in this industry a little sooner. What you see or more accuately don’t see in the Media has a profound effect in shaping how society views us, treats us and utilizes us. What woman over 40 hasn’t stood before a mirror and pulled her face tight, and imagined how happy she’d be with a little nip and tuck?!
This isn't just an issue that faces actresses. The pressure is on for all women to look young and to get lunchtime Botox, facelifts at 40, collagen injections, tummy tucks, butt lifts, boob you name it. All in an effort to look 25 again even when you are 80.
The images we get in the media are mainly of young women and their stories. We rarely see the face of a woman who actually looks 50. And the magic wrinkle cream ads are often with models that look 25. Hell they probably are 25.
What on earth does this say, not only to us, but also to our young women---our daughters? It says age is something to dread like a disease.
Society makes us feel that we should avoid who we really are, strive for perfection and pass for younger.
Isn't it ironic that women over 40 are so devalued in this country when at the same time we are a huge segment of the population? 50 % of all women in the US are 35 and older and control 80% purchasing of the purchasing power in this country. I mean who does the shopping?
By 2010 women between the ages of 40 and 64 will be the largest age group and consumer group in this country. Wow!
So, anyway, after a period of self-pity, loss and confusion the "boomer" took over. Boomers don’t just sit back and take it. They DO something about it.
I had to find a new purpose or dream. And it is not easy when the career you had isn’t working any more.
I’ve gone through a lot of journeys and transitions the last 12 years. But I believe the key to finding your “inner whistle” is to re-imagine your dream or dream a new dream. At least it was for me. Eventually I realized that I was a tapestry of talents and possibilities and smarts. I had to find a way to use all of my talents, - old and newly discovered.
The closer I got to finding new path the closer I got to hearing a faint whistle deep inside. This new path, this new found dream, vision, whatever you call it brought me back to life.
Starting this company, In the Trenches Productions, and the journey it has taken me on has helped me to find my own "inner whistle".
SO DON’T BUY INTO THE IMAGES YOU SEE IN THE MEDIA OR WHATEVER YOU THINK SOCIETY WANTS YOU TO BE ! Don’t wait for permission to start something new. Don’t listen to the naysayers.If you have even a tiny drop of an idea for a new path in your heart -investigate it. Stay open to it and to all that may come from it.
START DREAMING NO MATTER HOW BIG OR SMALL your idea. Dreams don’t stop as we age. Dreams are essential to living and essential to finding your “inner whistle”. Working toward a dream even if it fails bring a light, an energy and a wisdom to your life that will make you shine. Make you beautiful. My dream is that you hear your “Inner Whistle” loud and clear. Then the world will finally take notice. Because you are….Dynamic, Resilient, Smart, Important, Vital, Confident, Powerful AND BEAUTIFUL women over 40 DIVAS!!! That is you!
