When longtime writer, editor, and journalist Kristen Philipkoski was in her 40s, she easily mingled with the 20-year-olds who also wrote fashion blogs and attended Fashion Week. But as she hit 45, and then 50, she realized her mindset was evolving.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The 53-year-old started her career at <\/span>Wired<\/span><\/i> as a freelance writer and moved up to staff reporter, and then science editor. After 12 years in that fast-paced environment, Philipkoski was burned out, so she took a break, got certified to teach Pilates, and enjoyed the chance to reinvent herself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite this new direction, she missed writing and editing in the journalism world. <\/span>\u201cSo, I switched gears and started writing about fashion and lifestyle topics,\u201d <\/span><\/i>says<\/span> Philipkoski.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Besides launching her own blog at 41, the Penn State University graduate edited independent fashion blogs and wrote for fashion and retail sites like <\/span>Racked, Eat, Sleep, Denim, <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>Forbes<\/span><\/i>, where she still works. <\/span>\u201cI really enjoyed it\u2014it was fun. I liked being in that scene,\u201d <\/span><\/i>she says. <\/span>\u201cBut during this time, I was getting older\u2014I was just behaving as if it wasn\u2019t happening to me. I wasn\u2019t talking about it.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The day came, though, when she wanted to embrace her real age. <\/span>\u201cI didn\u2019t want to pretend I was younger anymore,\u201d <\/span><\/i>she recalls. <\/span>\u201cI have gained a lot of wisdom from the aging process. There\u2019s value in experience.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/h3>\n

As Philipkoski entered this stage of her life, she realized other women in midlife frequently didn\u2019t have a voice in the media. She started recognizing how older women often lost their voices in the world.<\/span> \u201cThey should feel celebrated for their age, but often, they are ignored, brushed aside, laid off\u2014not considered valuable anymore in their jobs,\u201d <\/span><\/i>she says. <\/span><\/p>\n

This realization set her on a path to provide answers and space for women mirroring her own midlife struggles and changes. That took the form of <\/span>Mean Magazine <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>The Mean Show<\/span><\/i> podcast, which she launched together in 2019. She liked the edginess and alliteration of using <\/span>\u201cmean\u201d <\/span><\/i>as a name, plus the math definition\u2014the middle of a group of numbers\u2014made her think about the middle-age factor.<\/span><\/p>\n

She had been pondering the magazine idea for a while, because she saw the value and need for a publication focused on women like her. And the podcast came about because she wanted to have more intimate conversations with more women.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was all born at the same time,\u201d <\/span><\/i>Philipkoski says, adding that her audience is women wanting to hear from other women with similar issues who are diving into middle age with energy, ambition, and enthusiasm. <\/span>\u201cI just really wanted to reach this audience that I thought deserved to be seen and catered to instead of ignored. This is for women who feel like the media is ignoring them, and they have the whole second half of their lives ahead of them. Their lives are far from over.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Although she hopes her podcast\u2019s enlightenment will encourage younger women as they reach more advanced stages of life, Philipkoski doesn\u2019t think having a resource like her podcast would have had much affect on her when she was younger.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m totally honest, I don\u2019t think I would have paid much attention to it, because society as a whole avoids talking about middle age, midlife, menopause, and all the things we\u2019re talking about. I probably would have been in some kind of denial,\u201d <\/span><\/i>she says.<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cThe education and awareness for women needs to start a lot younger, and we need to really be reaching out to the younger generations and let them know that when you turn 50, your life isn\u2019t over. There\u2019s so much more to come, and there\u2019s nothing to be ashamed of. It\u2019s a privilege to live this long, beyond middle age.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Philipkoski stresses that younger women need to learn and understand about perimenopause, menopause, brain fog, hot flashes, hormonal imbalances, and much more, including the misinformation about hormone replacement therapy, which she sought out from her doctor after interviewing one of her guests.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t even know what perimenopause was until mine was over,\u201d <\/span><\/i>she says. <\/span>\u201cIn the past five years, it\u2019s become so much more known and discussed, and that is fantastic.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Moving forward, Philipkoski wants to cover more career topics and perhaps interview celebrities about their beauty regimens. <\/span>\u201cWe admire these older celebrities because they look great, remain very active, and have vibrant careers, but it can be a little dangerous, because you look at JLo and say, <\/span><\/i>\u2018She\u2019s the same age as me? What\u2019s wrong with me?\u2019\u201d Philipkoski says she would love to find a way to interview a celebrity expert on how women can avoid the comparison, self-doubt, and self-criticism that celebrities can cause.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, she enjoys sharing women\u2019s stories and learning from them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always super curious about other women\u2019s stories and find it really helpful to learn from them\u2014I think that is valuable for everyone,\u201d <\/span><\/i>she adds.<\/span> \u201cMy podcast is important, because it gives women a voice\u2026 and it brings to light the importance of the second half of life. It lets women know that there is so much more to come.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

August 2022 Issue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When longtime writer, editor, and journalist Kristen Philipkoski was in her 40s, she easily mingled with the 20-year-olds who also wrote fashion blogs and attended Fashion Week. But as she hit 45, and then 50, she realized her mindset was evolving.\u00a0 The 53-year-old started her career at Wired as a freelance writer and moved up to staff reporter, and then science editor. After 12 years in that fast-paced environment, Philipkoski was burned out, so she took a break, got certified to teach Pilates, and enjoyed the chance to reinvent herself.\u00a0 Despite this new direction, she missed writing and editing in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":13101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[365,3583,3579,3580,3581,3582,3584],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n