Matilde Fieschi
Does the age we are match the age we feel we are? Does aging take away sexual pleasure? Why are men and women so angry with each other? Is feminism under attack as toxic masculinities rage?
In this episode of O Tal Podcast – recorded live, at Fábrica Braço de Prata, in Lisbon, and with the theme “Rewriting Time” – Georgina Angélica and Paula Cardoso talk to Ana Markl and Tânia Graça about the impact of the passing of years, on the body and mind, and the progress and setbacks that accompany us in this time of accelerated ‘algorithmization’.
Matilde Fieschi
“The amount of information is so anxiety-provoking that it paralyzes us”, notes Ana, warning of the collective inertia that is observed in the face of tragedies, such as that in Palestine. “In other periods of history, people didn’t know what was happening and they let it happen. They believed in the propaganda, in the narratives. At this moment there is no excuse.”
Another sign of the times we live in is evident in toxic masculinities, and the return to old and oppressive gender roles.
“As the values of feminism were never fully realized, we are always going back and talking about what we were talking about in the 60s”, points out Tânia, peremptory in her diagnosis. “Stronger progress brings stronger countermovement. I think this is what we have seen happening, not only in Portugal but in the world, where conservative and political movements grow, feeding horrible prejudices.”
Matilde Fieschi
Between what we observe around us, and what we observe within ourselves, what stories are we writing and even rewriting?
“Menopause brings a great liberation – especially at an age when I am still quite valid – in realizing that you are no longer competing in the same championship that society has forced you into for a long time, which is to be cute, desirable and fresh”, argues Ana.
Prepared to overcome the setbacks of time, the author says that, last summer, she celebrated the new phase of her adult life with a cake. “I wasn’t counting, but I must say that it’s a knowledge about myself that makes me feel younger”, she reveals, appeased by what was left behind.
“Aging as a stigma doesn’t bother me. I’m distressed by the fear of not being healthy, especially because I became a mother at 40, and I want to enjoy my child.”
Matilde Fieschi
Tânia Graça, on the other hand, remembers that the mirror often gives us back our age, based on the people around us.
“I see my mother, who is 71 years old, is great and in good health, but there is this confrontation with the passage of time”. Likewise, the psychologist and sexologist shares the perplexity of seeing her eldest nephew, aged 17, moving towards completing secondary education.
“Sometimes I feel a certain existential crisis: I’m 33 years old, what things do I still need to do? Do I have time to do them? Sometimes it gives me a feeling, which isn’t real, that I have little time.”
Matilde Fieschi
On the way to another birthday, Tânia points out one of the questions that age has brought to her. “I have super white hair, and to dye it or not to dye it is an internal debate. Because my values say: I don’t have to dye it, I don’t have to hide my aging, but it’s a fact that I’ve been dyeing it.”
The choice, emphasizes the psychologist, highlights the power of the conditioning to which all people are subject. “No one here is a golden rosemary that grows out of the field without being sown. We are all in deconstruction”.
Listen to this conversation with Georgina Angélica and Paula Cardoso here, punctuated with laughter and reflections.
Matilde Fieschi
Tal Podcast is a weekly podcast dedicated to interpersonal relationships and human affection. Through in-depth conversations with notable guests, the podcast reveals an original narrative and opens the doors to an international community of reflection and interest.
A pioneer in black and Afro-descendant culture in Portugal, it is a space where all lives fit, emotionally linked by experiences of trial and stories of humanization.
In long unscripted conversations, Georgina Angélica and Paula Cardoso present special guests, in new episodes, every Thursday on the Expresso, SIC and SIC Notícias websites or any podcast platform.
Tiago Pereira Santos with Nuno Fox
Georgina Angelica is a specialist in Education and Social Intervention. She works as an educator, trainer and speaker, with more than 20 years of experience in Portugal, England and Angola.
Paula Cardoso is the founder of the network Afrolink and author of the children’s book series ‘Força Africana’. She is also the presenter of the TV program “Rumos”, broadcast on RTP África.
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