Red Hat Ramblin'

By Katie Deem
Every year on the anniversary of my birth, my mother dons a red hat and purple regalia. This is her ceremonial dress, essential in honoring her daughter’s life. She calls our family and we get dolled up—I in pink and lavender, and my grandmother, cousin, two aunts, and mother in red and purple. We are devoted members of the Red Hat Society.

The Red Hat Society began when Sue Ellen Cooper in Tucson, Ariz., decided to offer her friend Linda Murphy a birthday gift of a vintage red hat and a copy of the poem “Warning” by Jenny Joseph. She eventually gave the same gift to several of her other friends. They soon realized they were a group with a very particular identity, sort of a “Red Hat Society,” and they decided to go out in their red hats, with “purple dresses which didn’t go,” to reflect the ambition of the poem.

The idea soon spread across the country. Women of all ages celebrated being women, and commemorated and honored one another with red hats for ladies fifty and over and pink hats for those younger. They kicked up their heels, went out for dinner and drinks. Women enjoyed themselves and were not ashamed.

The Society represents the opposition to the sentiment that “Men age; women rot.” In one fell swoop, women in the later years of their life began to agree that they were worth more than what this culture felt they were. Women in all stages of life expressed themselves as vibrant, caring, fun and passionate about life. They took back their right to be themselves. In effect, this culture no longer expects older women to be the stern, wise old crone, but rather we allow them to be whoever they are—shy or outspoken, joyful or serious. They can be all this and more, together.

Through www.redhatsociety.com, women can find chapters near them or create a chapter of their own. Chapters can be family or friends, young or old, but every member must be a woman—men are not allowed. Women can join as an individual member of the virtual chapter entitled Ruby RedHat’s Ramblers. Membership to any chapter is free (unless the chapter itself institutes dues), but a program entitled Purple Perks is $18 annually and offers members such benefits as 10 percent off Red Hat Society Store sales, 20 percent discount off Amtrak rail fares, and discounts for national and regional events. However, membership to the Perks is optional. Some other more specific discounts exist. The Web site also offers Red Hat Society merchandise, the magazine, and news and announcements of upcoming events in the United States.

Canada has now also officially acknowledged and registered the trademark of the Red Hat Society. This makes the Society an international group.

Since my mother joined The Red Hat Society, she is delighted with life. Though hardship comes, she knows her femaleness makes her strong. She has found confidence in recognizing her experiences as a woman. She knows that being a woman shapes every aspect of her life, and that femininity is worth commemorating.