Mystic South

This paper offers a transnational feminist interpretation of 21st century cronehood. Articulated by Adrienne Rich in 1984 and criticized and evolved by Caren Kaplan, the concept of politics of location provides a framework for an examination of how cronehood is presented through highlights of intersectional aspects of identities that appear in contemporary society. Through this lens this article looks at how stereotypes of cronehood and a rising popularity of menopause ties a deeper and more diverse understanding of cronehood as a series of nuanced identities, rather than a singular one. This paper explores how the politics of trauma, gender, and race in the presentation of contemporary cronehood challenges a traditional dominant narrative that is not as fully explored as the narrative of maiden and mother within the maiden-mother-crone trope. It argues that utilization of a transnational feminist lens allows a vital first step to widen and further engage the many who might lay claim to the label crone but for its narrow interpretation. Thus this article argues against a purely singular view of cronehood and for a broader representative and universal version of cronehood.