WHAT’S IN A NAME

When the ideas for H.A.G.S. with Attitude germinated in my mind, the title of the book had not yet emerged. However, I wanted the title to instantly capture the attention, whilst at the same time reflect the key themes of the book.

 

When we are able to travel, I live part of the year in the South of France. I have joined a closed Facebook group of women with approximately 2,000 members and based in that part of France. As with any group, there were some lovely women who regularly organised events and shared useful information. As I did not live in France all year round, it was a beneficial source of local knowledge.

As a potential target audience, I thought they would be an ideal group with whom to share my initial thoughts of my proposed book and solicit some feedback to a possible title. I envisaged their feedback to help me to understand what my ideal reader would be interested in.

As an academic I have been used to receiving some damning feedback from reviewers, picked myself up and implemented the changes I agreed with and challenged those with which I disagreed. I was however unprepared for the barrage of verbal abuse from many of the women in this group. I was totally vilified! They did not take kindly to be referred to as hags.

Their response did knock my confidence for a while, but once I picked myself up and dusted off my dented self-esteem, I started thinking and analysing their reactions. I concluded that fairy tales and stories are awash with images and tales of the embittered older women, labelled as hags. As a group of older women, it brought them up close to their fears of getting older and being labelled a hag.

My chapter on fairy tales and stories was a direct result of their responses and sets out to put the record straight as to the true meaning of hags. In ancient times hags were the holy ones and revered for their wisdom and knowledge of natural medicines. It motivated me to reinstate the true meaning of hags.

As if often the case, their response gave rise to my research on stories and narratives and how these are deeply imbedded in our identities and how we see ourselves. These powerful stories also continue to influence how society, and the beauty industry in particular, view older women.

You will know from reading my book that I passionately believe we as a group of older women, need to challenge these outdate stereotypes wherever we encounter them.

Angélique

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