9 Lives | Chapter 8 | Introduction Part One: Glide

This article is part of a weekly series adapted from our latest book, "The 9 Lives of Woman" by Christine Marie Mason

Chapter 8: Glide 65-78 (Post Menopause 2)

Women in Their 70s 

There’s a quiet revolution happening among women in their late sixties and seventies, a seismic shift away from the outdated narratives of decline and toward a new model of thriving. This is not the traditional golden-years script of slowing down and stepping aside. This is a generation of women standing fully in their power—creating, leading, exploring, and loving with a kind of freedom they might not have known in their younger years.

For decades, our culture has struggled to imagine what a woman in her seventies could be. Historically, she was expected to become softer, smaller, a shadow of her former self. But what we are witnessing now is a profound shift. The 70s are no longer an epilogue; they are a dynamic, expansive chapter in a well-lived life. Whether on the global stage or in the intimacy of their own communities, women of this age are proving that fulfillment, sensuality, strength, and intellectual engagement do not wane with age—they evolve.

Women at 70: A New Model of Leadership and Influence

Look around, and you will see women in their seventies shaping the world in ways both subtle and seismic. The most powerful woman in European politics today, Christine Lagarde, is in her late sixties, still directing global financial policy. Nancy Pelosi led the U.S. House of Representatives well into her eighties. Jane Fonda, a lifelong activist, is still getting arrested for climate justice at 86. These are not relics of past greatness; they are active forces, proving that leadership and influence do not belong to the young alone.

Athletes, too, are rewriting the story of aging. In her seventies, triathlete Madonna Buder, known as the "Iron Nun," has completed over 350 triathlons, including multiple Ironman races. Ernestine Shepherd, a bodybuilder in her 80s, is still competing and training others, proving that strength and vitality are not age-restricted. Women are not only continuing to move their bodies in their 70s, but they are also pushing the limits of what we thought was physically possible.

The Science of Healthspan: A Whole New Frontier

For the first time in human history, aging is no longer seen as an inevitable march toward frailty and decline. Science has entered the chat. A whole new world of healthspan research—studying not just how long we live, but how well we live—is emerging. Longevity experts like Dr. David Sinclair and Dr. Peter Attia are leading conversations on extending not just lifespan but healthspan, advocating for nutrition, movement, and medical advancements that allow people to thrive well into old age.

Women in their 70s are actively engaging with this knowledge. They are weightlifting to maintain bone density, practicing yoga for mobility, fasting for cellular regeneration, and even experimenting with peptides and regenerative therapies to support their vitality. Biohacking is no longer the domain of Silicon Valley men; it belongs to the wise women who refuse to accept the outdated notion that aging equals decline.

Reinvention: The 70s as a Beginning, Not an End

What makes this era particularly exciting is the sense of reinvention. The 70s are not a winding down but a widening out. Women are writing their first books, starting new businesses, traveling solo, learning new instruments. They are more financially independent than previous generations, more self-possessed, more willing to take risks.

Some are diving into creative expression in ways they never had time for before—painting, sculpting, making music, writing memoirs. Others are leaning into community, forming deep friendships, moving into co-housing arrangements, or creating spaces for intergenerational wisdom-sharing. For many, spirituality becomes more central—not necessarily in a religious sense, but as a practice of deep attention, reverence, and daily joy.

This is what it means to be fully alive at 70. Not to fade, but to flourish. Not to be erased, but to be seen and heard. These women are no longer seeking permission to exist in their fullness. They are not waiting for society to catch up. They are writing their own narratives, stretching beyond the limitations once placed on them, and reclaiming every aspect of what it means to be human.

And if this is what 70 looks like now—imagine what’s next.