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This chapter studies how Elizabeth Warren, Hillary Clinton, and Sheryl Sandberg fared as women public intellectuals in the context of contemporary political and corporate life. Elizabeth Warren used her economic stance as a major part of her focus on her Senate campaign and she has also been influential in her contribution to debates on affordable health-care and college debt. Warren's reputation has been built on her role as a ‘progressive fighter’ and comes from her track record of opposition to Donald Trump, which goes back to before his presidency. Meanwhile, Sheryl Sandberg is a bestselling author and her books and the controversy surrounding them have framed her contribution and legacy. Unlike other women public intellectuals with distinct academic careers and hugely successful publications, Sandberg does not write as an academic, but as a corporate thinker who is interested in the advancement of women in corporate life. Finally, Hillary Clinton is probably the most famous woman public intellectual on the planet. She has come closest to breaking the ‘glass ceiling’ in US politics and has provided signposts for women, both positive and negative, about what it means to be a woman at the highest levels of the public sphere.

This chapter explores the contours of an increasingly dominant variant of feminism. Concentrating on Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s bestselling book Lean In, the chapter proposes that this hugely popular feminist manifesto offers insight into the ways in which the husk of liberalism has been mobilized to spawn a neoliberal feminism as well as a new feminist subject. Disavowing the oppressive socioeconomic and cultural structures shaping the lives of the majority of women as well as liberal feminism’s call for political and legislative change to redress inequality, this feminist subject accepts full responsibility for her own well-being and self-care, which is predicated on crafting a felicitous work-family balance. Neoliberal feminism consequently hollows out the potential of mainstream liberal feminism to provide a critique of the social injustices women face and, in this way, further entrenches neoliberalism.

What is the meaning of the surprising origin story of the midlife crisis? Reflecting on the history of the midlife crisis in light of ongoing debates about the cost of living for women and men, the final chapter points to the relevance of female and feminist discourses about aging and the life-course. Feminist conceptions of “midlife crisis” continue to exist, although the term is rarely used. The idea of changing your life midway through is central in the work of theorist Sara Ahmed, and middle age also remains prominent in the debate about gender and careers, where a new “midlife crisis at 30” describes women’s anxiety about integrating work and family lives. However, as Sheila Heti points out, time and aging often liberate from the strain of making a decision and can bring relief for women who are faced with the choice of motherhood. By illuminating critical attitudes and alternative conceptions of the meaning of life, the story of the midlife crisis makes visible the legacy of feminist thought and practice. This makes it important to better comprehend who suppressed it and how, while also encouraging a fuller engagement with feminist pasts as a starting point for new visions today.