Middle age has long been perceived as a time of loss and decline for women. This book traces a profound new shift away from marginalization, in the wake of the women's movement and other cultural events. Today, women in midlife stand at the forefront of a great transformation of cultural attitudes: rejecting stereotypes, embracing new opportunities, and forming what the authors call "a new collective middle-aged identity." Women over 50 explores the emergence of contemporary understanding of the midlife experience, reviewing the current state of research and knowledge in such important topics as illness, body image and exercise; love, romance, and sexuality; friendship and support systems; "the sandwich generation"; re-creating the role of grandmothers; retirement and financial stability, and more. Bridging a significant gap in feminist-psychology literature, and offering insight into future research, it balances optimism and realism about the lives of older women -- and the future of younger women.