In this episode, you will learn 10 FACTS about Joe, what age she would like to go back to, and what advice she would give herself at that age! We also talk about the main causes of body image issues, how they come up, and how she overcomes them. And we discuss what aging means to her and to her body.
You can READ the interview transcript HERE
10 Facts About Joe
(at the time of the project)
1. 52 years old.
2. She goes by Joe. But her full name is Joanna.
3. Joe was born in Goulburn country town near Canberra
4. Joe moved up to Canberra to go to university. And that was only an hour away from home. Now she lives near Canberra, she works in Canberra.
5. Although Joe travelled the World, she has remained an hour from where she was born her whole life.
6. Joe has been married for 29 years, to Tim, who is absolutely the love of her life.
7. Joe and Tim have two adult children. They're very, very proud of Lily and Angus, and they are 25 and 23. And both still living at home and working full time.
8. They have one amazing dog Piper, who's an 11-year-old Labradoodle - a cross between a Labrador and a poodle.
9. Joe works full-time and manages a team of social workers, who support vulnerable families in Canberra. And particularly do a lot of child protection in ACT.
10. Joe’s passion is social justice, and particularly looking after the vulnerable kids in our community and keeping them safe and giving them every opportunity that they can have.
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
(auto-generated)
Hi, you're listening to the My Body, My Story podcast.
I would go back to 30 because of the age of the children and readjust my perspective on life and my priorities and realise that life's short and my time with them as little people is even shorter, so work doesn't matter.
This is the 45 over 45 chapter where we celebrate Rule Breakers and role models, the women who inspire us to live life our way and to show their sensuality beauty, soul, and true essence. Here we talk about what it's like to be 45 Plus, adjusting to the changes that come with time, and we listened to the stories about participants. If you have an interesting story, we'd love for you to participate. You can email us at info@aleksandrawalker.com That's Aleksandra spelled with a K S. Or visit our website aleksandrawalker.com
Hello, everyone, and welcome to The My Body My Story projects and today with us Joe in the studio. And while she's sitting in the makeup chair and Chitra is doing makeup for her. I'll be asking her a few questions. Hi, Joe.
Hello
Welcome to the studio and welcome to the project. Let's start and tell us 10 facts about yourself.
Okay, thank you. So I go by Joe. My full name is Joanna. I live up near Canberra, I work in Canberra. I was born in Goulburn country town and moved up to Canberra to go to university. And that was only an hour away from home. And that's as far as I ever got. So although I've travelled the world have remained within an hour's have played out an hour from where I was born my whole life. I have been married for 29 years, to Tim, who was absolutely the love of my life. We have two adults children. We're very, very proud of Lily and Angus, and they are 25 and 23. And both still living at home and working full time. But they, they're both incredible people and one day, we're hoping that things will change out there and they'll be able to afford to move out of home and buy their own place. So at the moment, we are living in the same house. We have one amazing dog Piper, who's an 11 year old Labradoodle, who we all love very much
what is the word?
Labradoodle. So it's a cross between a Labrador and a poodle. So she's brown curly hair. She's beautiful. I'm still unfortunately working full time I manage a team of social workers. And we support the vulnerable families in Canberra. And particularly for children. We do a lot of work with child protection in ACT. And that was my previous job before I moved out to work in the community. I've always worked in the community sector. My passion is social justice, and particularly looking after the vulnerable kids in our community and keeping them safe and giving them every opportunity that they can have.
So when you say vulnerable kids, it's like a domestic violence or liquids.
Yes, domestic violence, drug and alcohol issues in the house mental health issues, poverty. And unfortunately, child abuse and neglect. Looking after all of those issues. Yes.
Excellent. So it didn't mention how old are you now?
I am 52.
And so what, at this age, what does ageing means to you?
Being invisible, being invisible, being invisible. I feel at this age I am overlooked at work. And I am looked through and looked passed out outside of work out in the community. And instead of being looked at or even looked up and down, that doesn't feel like it happens anymore as we get older.
So that's why we started this project. So, we've been heard and seen and so we can reach a
wider audience and talk about what ageing means for us. That we are still here. We like we're beautiful we do we still full of energy and we have plans… when you're saying that being invisible, so what do you think. it's not our usual question, but I'd like to ask this question. So, what do you think is the reason for this kind of attitude of people? Why suddenly they stop seeing us?
I believe that as we get older, and we start to feel like that, and I probably again, shouldn't be using the collective way, but I certainly feel this way, is that we start to hold ourselves up to unrealistic standards. And that is happening more in this modern age. Because of media, we see photos and movies, and people on TV and social media. And they all look so young, and flawless, and beautiful. And we forget that behind each of those photos, is an awful lot of filters, and makeup, and hairdressers, and stylists, but we forget that we see, I see we see them and hold ourselves up to an unrealistic standard. And stuff. We don't compare, we don't matter, we don't look like that.
Or I'm thinking that sometimes, they just don't publish the photos of all the women. They just started, this movement just started, like with the older models, you know, and looking more natural. But before like, if you remember, we will just see normally young women on the covers of the magazine and inside the magazine. And it's like forgetting that there's a very small demographics, you know, it's not a representative group of the whole world.
And then the middle-aged women that they were previously putting into the social media and into the movies are people that are absolutely jam packed full of cosmetic procedures.
Yeah. And again, it's not realistic, it's not real, we kind of moved to this question already. What do you think are the main causes of the body image issues? Like, I think that you already named the reasons is the media, but do you think any other reasons are? Do you think it can be also within the family? Or like, social circles?
You know, I think it's probably peer, I think that your family? For me, my family has always been it doesn't matter. Yeah, as long as you are happy, and you're a good person, it doesn't matter. And that's never been something you know, you've had I've ever held myself up to unrealistic, unrealistic expectations from my family about what I look like. But certainly, peas and women that you are surrounded with in your daily life. Yeah, you absolutely feel no. Keeping Up with the Joneses. I've got a look like that. I've got to wear that. I've got to do that. I've got to be that. Yeah.
And you know what, we discuss it earlier before the we start recording the podcast. And I think that maybe one of the reasons why people try to clue like not to not, as you said, I'm invisible. Yeah, they don't see me. It's their own fear of getting older. You know, the people try to escape something which they're afraid of. And so I think that the moment most of the people stop fearing getting older, and understanding that there is life after 40 or 50. So they will stop fearing that themselves and maybe that trend of trying to close their eyes on someone who is older than them will stop or at least will lessen or that will have this kind of effect. Hopefully.
That's why we need more older women representing the different age groups in the media, we need all this podcast, we need to talk about that. You know, so people hear that they know that and basically the just you have only 10 or 20 years of your young life after that, like but you don't live 20 years, you live 60,80. So does it mean that you just stay alive and can enjoy life only for the 20 years of your life? No. So that's why we are here, we will talk about that.
Yes. And I think it's up to women to support other women. And we'll age disgracefully together. Yeah, it will be okay.
Exactly, exactly. If you could go back in time, imagine this a time machine to any age, what would it be? and why? And what advice would you give yourself at this age?
I would go back to being 30. To 30. Because I would have two little people in my life, I would do give anything to have one more day at them at that age, I would go back to 30 because of the age of the children, and it readjust my perspective on life and my priorities and realise that life's short, and my time with them as little people is even shorter. So work doesn't matter at all. And it would be the message to myself would be just enjoy every moment of every day. Don't get to 52 and think I should have or I could have. Yeah, yeah.