Putting the Wild Into Aging
At our April event celebrating Minnesota Women’s Press’ 39th anniversary, author Junauda Petrus shared a sensual poem about the wildness of women’s bodies and spirits. She prefaced it by indicating that for much of the past decade, she has created a kind of ministry about grandmas. “To me, they hold such multitudes of women and girls within them,” she said. “I think our society tends to quickly flatten women and femmes to ‘What can you do?’ We erase women from their [multiple identities and wisdoms].”
In this month’s issue, we explore the transitions of aging bodies — including details about perimenopause and menopause — while acknowledging the changes that happen as ovaries slow down and lose function. How do we regroup physically and emotionally as hormones adjust to a new normal? We also learn about a new clinic system launched in Minnesota that is focused on bodies over the age of 65.
We include a glimpse at the adventures Karen Noltner had alongside her photojournalist husband John. As empty nesters, they sold their house in 2020 and spent 2.5 years traveling around the country meeting people; the result was a 2024 Minnesota Book Award winner.
Andrea Gilats shares excerpts from a lovely memoir titled Radical Endurance, starting off with a celebration of her 75th birthday. As she writes, “I had heard the word frailty used to describe an alarming medical condition in which weight loss, fatigue, weakness, and depletion of spirit overtake unassuming old people, and I wanted to squelch that prognosis pronto.”
The Online Storytelling
Our online “Diversity in Politics” series is taking center stage as we approach the elections. We continue to be limited in budget capacity, but as we kick off a fundraising campaign in September, our first goal is to showcase conversations with women candidates around the state. Our uniquely women-focused coverage looks at why they run, barriers, and efforts to unseat anti-choice incumbents. Please support our story development budget at womenspress.com/donate.
As Saint Cloud professor Roya Akhavan believes, we are on the verge of finally seeing the power of “a paradigm shift that elevates the values and behaviors associated with the feminine aspects of humanity — namely, compassion, caring, cooperation, communal orientation, emotional intelligence, and moral courage — in leadership by both men and women to resolve global challenges … to effect a complete transformation in how leadership is defined and enacted.”
Finally, we are starting the interactive statewide element of our Changemakers Alliance story-sharing, designed to engage people statewide in personal reflections and group conversations about monthly questions.
Table of Contents
“History is not the past. It is the stories we tell about the past. How we tell these stories has a lot to do with whether we cut short or advance our evolution as human beings.” — Grace Lee Boggs, Chinese American activist
Health — What Is Happening to Our Aging Bodies?
Bookshelf — Presenting as My Age
Tapestry — Perspectives on Navigating Menopause
INTERACTIVE Changemakers Alliance — Grand Rapids, Feminine Leadership
Travel — Stories From the Road
Elder — A Clinic of One’s Own
Thoughts — Uncertainty and Hope
For 2025 coverage, Minnesota Women’s Press earned a community leadership award, three photography awards, and four editorial awards, including for coverage of social issues and for our Spring 2025 “Know Your Rights” special section supported by Unidos MN. Our publisher was named Journalist of the Year by Violence Free Minnesota for gender-based violence coverage.
