Not retiring: hyperconsumerism and ‘midlife’

An article in yesterday’s Guardian talked about midlife consumerism, in particular in relation to the menopause. It cited a 2022 report in the Cut which said that “the business of menopause is projected to be a $600bn market by 2025”.

It’s certainly something that seems to be becoming a thing in the UK. I recall going to a menopause-related event – talks and the like – recently and it was full of stalls peddling all sorts of potions and special types of menopause-friendly clothing, massages and the like. Where there’s an issue, there’s a market.

The same happens with mental health. Some of the big conferences on mental health are surrounded by people flogging mental health apps, fruit and all manner of other products. Smoothies seem to be big when it comes to mental health.

Similarly, I’ve noticed younger people succumbing over the years to ever more products for ever more parts of their bodies. Eyebrows, for instance, suddenly became a thing when my kids entered secondary school. Apparently, there are all manner of things you can do to them – at a price. I recall my daughter lying in a ball on her bed crying and saying: “Every part of me is judged.”

Consumerism is nothing new, of course, but it’s gone hyper in recent decades. Markets are constantly looking for new things to sell, new insecurities to promote, new miracle cures to save us from the wears and tears of living. The joy of the menopause in the past, at least for some, was freedom from periods and, allied to that, from the kind of visibility which passes for power when you are young.

I know that some women have a terrible time with menopause and that there may be products that help, but many of those that are marketed nowadays – often at a high price – are similar to the anti-ageing creams that have proliferated for years. The promise is eternal youth because to age in our society is considered a bad thing, something that can be somehow overcome if we have enough cash to pay for the privilege.

In the same way we look constantly for words to reframe middle age as something more dynamic-sounding. It would be good to reach a point of self-acceptance at some stage, but the goalposts seem to be ever moving. Expect that to continue for some time as the markets follow the money. At the moment it is older/’midlife’/50+ people who are more likely to have it.

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