Midlife Crisis

The phrase &quote;midlife crisis&quote; today conjures up images of male indulgence and irresponsibility-an affluent, middle-aged man speeding off in a red sports car with a woman half his age-but before it become a gendered cliche, it gained traction as a feminist concept. Journalist Gail Sheehy used the term to describe a midlife period when both men and women might reassess their choices and seek a change in life. Sheehy's definition challenged the double standard of middle age-where aging is advantageous to men and detrimental to women-by viewing midlife as an opportunity rather than a crisis. Widely popular in the United States and internationally, the term was quickly appropriated by psychological and psychiatric experts and redefined as a male-centered, masculinist concept. The first book-length history of this controversial concept, Susanne Schmidt s Midlife Crisis recounts the surprising origin story of the midlife debate and traces its movement from popular culture into academia. Schmidt s engaging narrative telling of the feminist construction and ensuing antifeminist backlash of the midlife crisis illuminates a lost legacy of feminist thought, shedding important new light on the history of gender and American social science in the 1970s and beyond.