I'm The Other 'F Word,' And It's Freaking Awesome

I can be described by the F-word, and I’m okay with that. No, not that F-word, but some that are even better.

Friend. Fabulous. Fascinating. Freaking Awesome. Forty-seven.

But you rarely find someone like me in a movie or a show. You might find a nod to the older mom, or middle-aged mother, but usually she’s shown as a dorky overachiever who is lost.

Bullshit. I call bullshit on that.

I am proudly a middle-aged mom. I’m 47 and have earned every single wrinkle, sag, and bulge. I’m not a cute 29-year-old running around in my Uggs, sipping my Starbucks, with 2 1/2 adorable kids who are perfect in every way. Wait, maybe the Starbucks is true, but it’s usually Dunkin’ because it’s on the way and cheaper and less hipsterish.

I didn’t get this way by being wimpy, people.

We have real lives. I have managed to homeschool two teens through high school, lived through all kinds of shit with them and helped them through it, kept my husband alive through company takeovers and am still funny as hell, and live for time with my girlfriends — you know, the time that you get to be yourself, if you remember who that is?

We get so damn caught up in being mom and wife, so what the hell happens when it’s time to become us again?

I just watched The Other F Word on Amazon, and I laughed so hard I peed (another wonderful part of being 47). I especially loved the character Sherry the Lyft driver because she is my spirit animal, and I am exactly like her when I drive. It’s my chance to take on the assholes of the road in the name of driving safely. I laughed and nodded so many times, except some of the never-have-I-evers freaked me out a little bit. It’s a show that doesn’t shy away for talking about menopause, or perimenopause in my case, and by God, it talks about vibrators.

“The best customers at my home sex toy party were ALL over the age of 40. Let’s face it, we know what we want, and we’re not afraid to go for it. AND we have the money to spend on it!”

What I really dig about this show is that the director, Caytha Jentis, was told by Hollywood insiders (including women!) that there was no freaking market for a show about midlife women. She knew better, so she privately funded the show and published it on Amazon. And it did fabulously. Like over 1 million views for Season 1, and over 80,000 views in a month for Season 2, which is funny because she was told that women over 40 don’t stream shows.

That was a real eff you to the Hollywood people who said it wouldn’t go anywhere.

I have an F-word for those people too.

Formidable.

Over 85% of all consumer products purchases — from automobiles to health care — are made by women, according to She-conomy. Forget about what you think women want, and give us what we do want. Real stories of real women.

The Other F Word is a series of short videos that stream for free on Amazon.