TO THE GOLDEN GIRLS

JUST A SHORT SURVEY. To participate please click on the comment button, answer YES or NO and please add whatever comments you think fit.

The Target Market:
The "golden girls". Women of 50 and above, or younger should you think this applies to you.

The SURVEY:

Objective of the survey is to understand whether there is a need for a community of "golden girls" to share ideas, knowledge, activities and, most importantly, to share concerns. The aim is to understand whether there is need for self-help groups within the community to enable older women to feel fully engaged in society.

WHY? As our body goes through the changes brought on by menopause, things happen to us that are out of the usual. The physical symptoms alone can be devastating to some. Without a proper understanding of what we are going through, older women tend to be sidelined or even shunned by family and friends. The uneven temper and uncalled for cantankerousness can cause them to become a "pariah", a necessary consequence of which is loneliness. On the individual level, such women can end up utterly confused because she is not in control of her emotions. Under these circumstances belonging to a sharing-community would be a huge boon.

While the physique can be medicated, the loss of vitality for life is even more difficult. Older women are often without a real reason to live. Their working life over, meaning is found in their children and grandchildren. For the average "golden girl", being a vital part of the family means to fill a need. This more often than not means babysitting and isolation. However, for such women, belonging to a community/group of her peers would be generally more beneficial as it provides greater mental stimulation and she remains a vital part of society.

A community-based group can maintain her participation in the public space. For those who have always been home-makers and never had much experience of socialising outside of the family because of family commitments the "golden years" could indeed be the start of another phase of enjoying the world and engaging in it in ways that can build self-esteem thus bringing about a new sense of self-fulfillment. Having friends to turn to outside of the confines of family and immediate neighbours would help her avoid the "empty nest syndrome" and the feeling of abandonment by ungrateful children. Keeping an older woman happy will keep her healthy longer. Keeping her occupied and focused on herself makes for a happy family.

A toast: TO THE GOLDEN GIRLS!!!

Thank you for taking time to participate in this survey.