Mutton dressed as lamb. Over the hill. Past it. Cougar. Past it. Silly old thing. Battle Axe.

As women age, they hear a lot of gendered ageist comments about their looks and usefulness. It’s hard not to absorb these negative messages, and it can impact women’s confidence. The World Health Organisation states that ageism is associated with poor health outcomes, shorter lifespans and identifies ageism as one of the key drives of elder abuse. This abuse is common, as one in eight Australians will experience this abuse as they age. For women, elder abuse intersects with gender inequality meaning women experience higher rates of elder abuse. We think women are facing two battles - a lack of respect for women and a lack of respect for older people.

Silver Threads and Golden Needles challenges gendered ageism by working with groups of older women in a series of workshops that explore the negative ageist comments. We brainstorm ways of countering these messages: ‘over the hill’ becomes ‘on the road’; ‘past it’ becomes ‘next it’; and ‘battle axe’ becomes ‘warrior’. Each woman selects her phrases and over the coming weeks we create cushions that have the positive and negative messages on either side. We then photograph the woman with their crafted pieces, and hold an exhibition of the portraits.

Silver Threads and Golden Needles was delivered as a pilot pilot project in early 2024 and launched at Wyndham Youth Centre as part of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. The pilot project had no formal funding and was supported with grassroots financial contributions and in kind support. The launch was an incredible success, and 100% of attendees surveyed indicated that they were more confident in challenging ageist language directed at older women, and that they had new phrases to respond to ageist language if they hear it.

Following a successful pilot, we are seeking funding to deliver the project in communities across Australia, building a movement of women that feel empowered and confident to challenge ageist and sexist language when they hear it. Ultimately Silver Threads and Golden Needles intends to change the conversation so that society finds gendered ageist comments as unacceptable as racism homophobia and disability discriminiation.