‘Middle-age’ or ‘mid-life’ are often overlooked in policies and in academic research which focuses on the young and the old, yet they remain important thresholds in the lives of individuals.

As a threshold, middle-age is vital not only to transitions in individual life-courses but also to how society represents and relates to age. Because middle-age is made sense of in relation to youth and older age, a lot of issues associated with it (empty-nest syndrome, unemployment, menopause, policies at work) are rendered invisible.

This research intends to...

• Explore what ‘middle age’ and ‘mid life’ mean to you
• Discuss some of the different ways middle age is represented and understood in our everyday lives
• Understand how your experiences of middle-age are shaped by a variety of everyday, historical, individual, social, cultural and political factors
• Consider the moments when ‘middle-age’ is more or less relevant in your lives
• Reflect on the different ways middle age is experienced
• Consider the changes that have marked your life, particularly around middle age

I am interested in representing the diversity of what it means to be middle-aged.