Saloni believes that as middle-aged housewives they're invisible. Do you think this is the same or different in your own culture?

Saloni believes the women can literally get away with murder because they're middle-aged housewives. "Who's more invisible than us?" she asks Geeta. Do you think the women are invisible to others in their society? Do you think this is the same or different in your own culture?

I think the same fears are present in American society, and those fears of aging/becoming invisible are part of what fuels America's obsession with plastic surgery. Big cheek implants,countless vials of filler, non-stop surgeries until people can't move their mouths very well because the skin is pulled so tight. It's gone way, way past a minor tweek to look refreshed.

I dont think middle age women disappear in this country unless they choose to. If anything, by middle age we are more confident and work harder for what we want.

I don't think middle-aged women disappear unless they want to blend in and go unnoticed. People might think they (we) are powerless until they see what we are capable of and what we have accomplished.

I felt I’d become invisible in some situations when I reached middle age, amd I wrote about this shift in my journal. I sometimes felt that people who didn[t know me assumed I wasn’t particularly smart, didn’t have much to contribute and/or didn’t care about important issues. But as we’ve begun to see more “mature” women playing significant roles on TV, in movies, and in books, perhaps our American culture is changing.

It is easy to disappear once a person becomes mother/wife/volunteer. It's not that you aren't spoken to when needed, it's that your interests, loves, even jobs should always be centered around family, not personal growth. It's a 'seen' disappearance and is a bit hurtful.

I think a middle aged woman housewife becomes invisible only if she lets herself become invisible. Many have important careers, many do high quality volunteer work, many are involved in important current affairs and issues. Many do a great job of raising families and being involved in their children's lives and education. None of this requires a woman to be invisible.

I agree with PKH I am comfortable interacting with different types of people due to my different roles throughout my life. I have been asked by middle aged women and older women to speak on their behalf, to order a drink at a pub for them, etc. These women definitely have let themselves become invisible to others due to their lack of confidence possibly.

I would say the middle aged housewife in America in decades past was definitely pretty invisible. She was automatically considered less intelligent and pigeon-holed to domestic/motherhood tasks. Watching classic movies brings it all back. Then as time progressed and they entered the work force during wartime they proved themselves capable and even heroic. Afterwards, office work was primarily an option where they were often exploited and considered playthings of men in power. Slow progress was made, but I do think that my daughter, born in 1970 grew up feeling equal in most ways, knew she was intelligent and was headed to college and opportunity that would come with hard work. Honestly I sadly remember other girls could be most adversarial. Peer pressure was the enemy as today it is bullying. So yes, I can relate to Saloni's invisible housewife, even invisible woman in the workplace, but feel my daughter's generation cannot.

I think it can happen to many woman but almost feel it has to do more with a personality trait ( shy, non risk taker) than being middle aged. Woman can be invisible and over looked at any age if they are not engaged or don't stand up for themselves.

Sometimes--I think it depends on the woman, on the place where she lives and the people with whom she associates.

I think it was more the case when few married women had jobs outside the home. Now there are more women with paying jobs as well as volunteers in the community. We are not as invisible as our mothers' and grandmothers' generations! Also, women make themselves seen and heard even where they might not be wanted.

It depends on the woman, the situation, and the observer. While ideally I would like to believe that I am never invisible, I have had occasions when I felt not only invisible, but unheard. Not so long ago, I spoke extensively at a meeting, and people responded to me, only to have the facilitator say to mea few minutes later, "you haven't said a word all night." And one friend my age is fond of saying that we can get away with a lot, and get a lot done, because we are so invisible. In Saloni's case, she may have felt that she had faded into her marriage and her motherhood at the expense of her own identity.

I am beginning to feel this way. I work full time and do not feel invisible at work. However, I am finding that socially, I am a member of a “forgotten group.” There are groups for singles, groups for parents with young children, groups for seniors, but I am not hearing about groups for working empty nesters.

I think the operative word here is "housewives." Very few of us are just housewives, but are scholars, board chairs, volunteers, business owners, and are eminently visible in those overlapping roles.
For me, now beyond middle age (and a reluctant housewife), this is a welcome sea change from the lives most of our mothers lived.

I have a great career, am well respected in my field and am loved dearly by my family but as an older adult I have definitely experienced being “invisible” by younger and it male colleagues either intentionally or not, it’s frustrating. Luckily my boss respects and values my experience so it hasn’t really been an issue. So yes I feel our society definitely still has some discrimination with women and age amongst a whole lot of other issues. For the most part I don’t feel invisible but sometimes in some situations absolutely!

I agree that housewives are overlooked. The magnitude of what a normal mother and caretaker and homemaker do on a regular basis largely goes without notice until it isn't done for some reason. I believe this cuts across cultures today.

Up until the 1980s I do believe that most middle-aged women were invisible. They were at home taking care of house and children, Their opinions were not sought or valued for the most part. Women that did work outside the home were seen as not being there for their husbands and kids. My best friend's mother worked outside the home full-time as a nurse in a nearby hospital as well as working with her husband on her off days in setting type and keeping the books at their small-town newspaper. In addition, they had six children. She was never included in all the clubs and social events that the other ladies were involved him. I remember her loneliness and isolation. No, she wasn't invisible in her profession, but she was made invisible by the other women because her life was different.

I don't think that housewives are invisible in our society, however they certainly do not carry the same respect or notice as a professional woman - which is totally unfair. They do tend to be more hidden as far as a hierarchy, however the law does not see see any differences in cases of violence. It is only society that structures the hierarchy, making a housewife lessor.