Dolly Parton's gone. Gloria Steinem's gone. The next cool old lady is you

Denise Balkissoon is executive editor of The Narwhal, a non-profit publication about the natural world in Canada. Somebody protect Jane Fonda. I'm joking, but I'm not. I'm not, because after losing Dolly Parton and Gloria Steinem in the same week, I'm not ready to mourn another badass old lady. I am, because Fonda has never needed anyone's help. Also, she's 88 and not afraid of it. On Thursday, she paid tribute to Steinem, then criticized tech billionaires for being woman-hating weirdos who 'want to live forever, while killing the rest of us.' Life's quality, not quantity, was the point. Wise old women accept their time on Earth is limited, and make the most of it. They're not insulted to be called 'old,' because they know every year is a privilege and a gift. As the role models of my youth fade away, the way to honour them is to let my youth fade, too. The space they created needs to stay filled. This is an invitation to all the girls with big mouths, big hearts and grey hairs — whether dyed, wigged or flying free — to step into it. Below, please find the job description. Badass old ladies are institutional knowledge holders. It's always been a critical role, and now we live in an era that is purposefully historically obtuse. Vaccine-preventable diseases are resurging as those who witnessed the suffering caused by measles and polio pass on. Rigid gender roles are being romanticized as the people that they trapped, stifled and harmed leave us, too. Whether residential school denialism in Canada or the diminishment of slavery in American schoolbooks, there's a concerted effort to pretend every fight for human dignity is new. This essential context is one big reason the loss of elders, famous and otherwise, hurts. Our feminist foremothers knew their history and worked to change the future. Parton came from rural poverty, and helped thousands of children learn to read. Steinem had an illegal abortion, then won, then lost and kept fighting for reproductive justice. Stó:lō author Lee Maracle, who died in 2021, created space for generations of Indigenous writers whose ancestors' stories were buried. Toni Morrison, who died in 2019, nurtured a similar lineage in Black literature. Jane Goodall, who died last year, protected ecosystems and non-human animals even as misinformation began to poison our collective memory of a stable, healthy planet. They were tough old broads who showed us how to survive tough times, stand up for others and dismiss fools as needed. These are high heels to step into. But another trick up their sequined sleeves was that they often made it look really fun. It's important not to forget that. Thankfully, it's easier than ever to see grey-haired heads having a good time. Middle-aged and genuinely old women are increasingly visible — like Fonda, who spent seven seasons alongside Lily Tomlin on 'Grace and Frankie' being 70ish, silly and sexy, simultaneously celebrating wrinkles and good face cream. In 2019, she was nominated for outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series. That same year, she was arrested at demonstrations for climate action — five times. Madonna, 68, has a very good new house album and the ability to make a knee sleeve look kinda cool. Kristin Scott Thomas, 66, rocks a deadly wardrobe, a lack of face fillers and ice in her veins on the spy series 'Slow Horses.' If spies are your thing, the two 'Killers of a Certain Age' novels are a fast-paced send-up of old women's legendary invisibility, which the protagonists employ to be effective assassins. It's a great time to be a badass old lady. So squeeze on that estrogen gel, grab some stylish yet comfortable sneakers and get a T-shirt that says 'I Can't Believe We Still Have to Protest This Sh*t.' Unfortunately, we do. Fortunately, righteous anger has long been good fuel for a great party, no matter how many decades you have under your belt. Olivia Rodrigo just held a concert that raised $20 million for maternal health, domestic violence and reproductive justice. We all have to pick up the weight our elders need to put down. Yes, it's already 9 p.m. but the more joint pain you have, the more important it is to dance like no one is watching — because actually, they are. Now is the time to honour Dolly, Gloria and all the others, before we're called to join them around the big bra bonfire in the sky. Denise Balkissoon is executive editor of The Narwhal, a non-profit publication about the natural world in Canada. Opinion articles are based on the author's interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events. More details