wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Her whole trip smacks of ageism. I live in NYC, doesn't this self proclaimed "hipster" realize hipsters are lame posers? I guess she's upset because she has nothing to rebel against. A real rebel without a clue.

Really, this vacuous topic deserves the Brian Lehrer treatment?

Maybe the larger question is why middle-aged (and older) women feel so OBLIGED to act young.

Maybe it reflects our national cult of youth - or our society's contempt for older women.

I'm sorry to say it, but recently I was at a party and the women had their faces so puffed up with Restylane that they looked like circus freaks.

They would have been lovely as their real selves. If not that, then at least not like circus freaks. I couldn't recognize one of them, it was scary... and sad.

As for the premise that the guest is old-fashioned and out of touch... well... she might take that as a compliment.

My concern is that we are moving in the direction of thinking of "in touch" and "progressive" as being matters of style. Whereas real progressive issues - necessary reform in government, banking, legal system, health care and agriculture (and infrastructure!) doesn't make the "cool" cut.

So if you have a tattoo, buy "hip" new clothes, and take your SUV to go snow-boarding, you're "in touch"? Whereas some middle-aged person who eats vegetarian, has a modest dress code, conserves fuel and other precious resources, and volunteers with an under-served population is, well, not even a subject worthy of discussion.

There's gotta be something more to growing older than proving we're "in touch" through tattoos... (and no, I'm not saying that people who snowboard and have tattoos aren't already involved in making the world a better place - my question is just... why is the style aspect the subject of discussion?)

I tuned in because I've loved Jancee's other books. The stuff she wrote about her family in her first book was so funny. I think people may have been taking the "cool parent" idea to seriously.

I think this guest is proving that she is, indeed, still a child to her mother: embarrassed of her, just like a 13-year-old, when the mother does something that she thinks is Not Right For An Adult, like *gasp* getting a tattoo (or in my case at 13, acts in a broad vaudeville-style stage review with baudy jokes). This subject turns on the false idea that there is only one kind of proper "adult," and that person doesn't do the things that "kids" do (similarly, there's just one kind of "kid" in this scenario). This limits both groups of people, requiring that adults care about matching clothes and that children prefer to eat favorite foods and stay up late. Listening to Jancee rattle down the reasons she was "cool" (Rolling Stone, hipster, etc.) and then prude up about her mom's behavior reveals more about Jancee's hangups about what is "proper" for people (women particularly?) to do than it does about any kind of universal "adulthood."

I am finding this conversation to be a little insulting and self-righteous. My son has 1 Ramones onesie and a Ramones lullabye CD. I also have many friends who have tattooed there moms. I think it's great for parents not to fall into the A-Typical mold of a parent role.

This author's premise is so thin and pointless and arbitrary. Please move on or at least feign technical difficulties and play music.

Have a lovely day,
Rodger

its not a middle-class white issue, rebellion is at the heart of the other, or the image of the other. it is clear that life issues affect all humanity equally. it is only this notion of white superiority which makes it a factor of ownership... get over the factor of control... that is the very issue of the white man's burden.

what an awful guest. She called the tattoo artist before her Mom went!?! Wow- that is just absurd. And incredibly narcissistic. Maybe you should allow your parents to be people instead of just who you think they are supposed to be.

i grew up with my dad... when i was 13, (this was 15 years ago) my dad would give me a hard time for snowboarding instead of skiing, i told my dad "he couldnt make fun of it til he tried it".

That was a mistake - he did, and was much better than me - as he was (and still is) a surfer, which gave him an advantage.

Ummm...Lots of people of all ages play Guitar Hero....the idea that video games are just for kids is quite frankly, old fashioned and passe...it's just another form of entertainment

Maybe the issue isn't that your guest's parents are stuck in "adolescence" but rather that your guest is just old fashioned and out of touch?

I am my mother's mother. When she got divorced 10 years ago, I had to sit her down and talk to her about safe sex and drunk driving.

I squirm when I hear parents use the word "cool" when speaking to their kids...Uggh!

No, I'm the world's oldest kid. My mom still introduces me as her "baby"... I'm 63 years old!!!!