Barbara Macdonald

Barbara Anne Macdonald (nee Charles, September 11, 1913 – June 15, 2000) was an American social worker and lesbian feminist activist. She is best known for her activism against ageism.

Early life and career She was born as Barbara Charles in Pomona, California and grew up in La Habra, California. Instead of feeling ashamed of her physical weakness, Macdonald decided to fight against ageism.

Macdonald saw ageism as a "central feminist issue" and made it the core of her activism. Macdonald felt that ageism divided women. She identified many aspects of age-related issues that affect older women, such as poverty, physical challenges caused by age, violence against older women, and health issues, all of which she felt were not adequately addressed by younger feminists. Macdonald felt that defining women by their familial roles was the central contributor to ageism.

In 1983, Macdonald and her partner, Cynthia Rich, published Look Me in the Eye: Old Women, Aging, and Ageism. The book was considered "extremely rare" by May Sarton and called "courageous" by Robin Morgan. In 1987, the book inspired the formation of the group Old Lesbians Organizing for Change.

After four years of lobbying to get the topic included at a women's studies conference,

Personal life From 1930 to 1935, she was married to Elmo Davis. In 1941, she was very briefly married to John Macdonald. She adopted her husband's family name and used it throughout her life. In 1974, Macdonald met Cynthia Rich, who was teaching a feminist workshop that Macdonald attended. She died of Alzheimer's disease on June 15, 2000.