When I started Changing the Narrative in 2018, I quickly noticed how few age-positive messages were out there in the universe. Whether looking for a birthday card or gift for a friend, or simply a notebook with a message for me, little was out there that carried pro-aging messages. Instead, cards and other merchandise reflected and reinforced the faulty societal narrative: Aging is a time of decline, deterioration, depression, dependence.
Daunted by the number of cards that portrayed aging as all downhill, I developed and launched an #antiageist birthday card campaign, commissioning artists and designers to develop cards that celebrated instead of denigrated aging. The campaigns won wide media attention, secured me an invitation to keynote at the American Greeting Card Association national conference.
But there’s still lots of work to do here. Recently, at a milestone birthday gathering of my college friends, a highly accomplished group of women, the “you’re too old” theme perpetuated the gift exchange.
So, I’ve created a shop with a small selection of print-on-demand merchandise for:
- Those of us who want to immerse ourselves in pro-aging messages to address the internalized ageism that seeps into our consciousness when we’re surrounded by younger is better messages (think coffee cups, cards and notebooks)
- Those of us who want to make bolder, external-facing anti-ageism messages (think tote bags and tee-shirts)
[shop]
Have a message you’d like to see on a product? Let me know!