The Deconstructed Woman

This is a podcast about breaking down what it means to be a woman, having the hard discussions from an inter generational perspective, and exploring the inner working’s of a woman’s life today!

The Deconstructed Woman is a society podcast hosted by Elisa Marie and Jojy, with 131 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Elisa Marie and Jojy hosts The Deconstructed Woman, a society show with 131 episodes published.

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  The Deconstructed Woman

  Single and 60

  Sep 25, 202635 min

  Single, Sixty, and Thriving Alone Virginia joins Jojy and Elisa to unpack why being single in your 60s can mean more freedom, not less. In this episode of The Deconstructed Woman, hosts Jojy and Elisa Murray sit down with their friend and longtime listener Virginia to talk about what it really means to be single and content in your 60s. Virginia shares the everyday freedoms of living alone — from skipping negotiations over dinner to guilt-free spontaneity — while also being honest about the moments she misses having a partner. The conversation widens into bigger questions about aging, caregiving, and gender: why women outnumber men later in life, why so many men aren't equipped to be caregivers, and how younger generations of women are redefining partnership on their own terms. It's a candid, funny, and thought-provoking look at singlehood as a choice rather than a consolation prize. ## Key Takeaways - Contentment in singlehood often comes from autonomy, not the absence of loneliness - Women outlive and outnumber men significantly in later life (roughly 2:1 by age 90) - Many men in past generations weren't raised to be hands-on caregivers - An active social network matters more for well-being than romantic partnership - Younger women increasingly seek "teammates," not caretakers or providers - Communal living among women (a "Golden Girls" model) is a real, growing consideration ## Topics & Timestamps - 00:00 — Meet Virginia & episode intro - 01:09 — Being single and content in your 60s - 03:07 — The "Golden Girls" living idea - 04:38 — Surprising gender ratio stats with age - 05:59 — What contentment actually feels like - 09:30 — Staying socially active as a single woman - 12:03 — Caregiving gaps in traditional marriages - 16:52 — Reflecting on ex-husbands as potential caregivers - 18:33 — Cohabitation trends and women's independence - 22:15 — Why dating apps didn't work out - 27:37 — Coping with occasional loneliness - 30:39 — A new generation of independent women ## Mentioned in This Episode - The Golden Girls — referenced as a model for women cohabitating later in life - Jojy's mother — earlier podcast episode about a failed "Golden Girls" living plan - Case management work — Virginia's job visiting senior couples, informing her caregiving observations - Senior living communities — discussed re: gender ratios and social patterns among residents ## Hosts - Jojy - Elisa Marie - Guest: Virginia

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  The Deconstructed Woman

  Sibling Therapy

  Sep 12, 202630 min

  Why Siblings Are Trying Therapy Together Elisa and Jojy explore the rising trend of sibling therapy and what it reveals about family bonds, old wounds, and lifelong loyalty. This week, Elisa and Jojy dig into the growing trend of sibling therapy, sparked by a New York Times Magazine article and a new book by therapist Karen Gail Lewis. They unpack why adult siblings are seeking counseling together, from long-buried childhood power dynamics to the surprising idea that siblings often outlast every other relationship in our lives — including our bonds with parents. Along the way, the hosts get personal, sharing their own sibling stories: age gaps, childhood bickering, caregiving fears for aging parents, and the deep, sometimes uncomfortable realization that our sibling relationships shape how we love, fight, and forgive as adults. It's a candid, reflective conversation about the people who know us longest — and what it takes to keep those bonds strong. ## Key Takeaways - Sibling therapy is a growing trend, highlighted by a recent NYT Magazine feature and Karen Gail Lewis's new book. - Siblings often outlive our relationships with parents and even close friends, statistically speaking. - Childhood roles (protector, peacekeeper, "the difficult one") can silently shape adult sibling dynamics. - We first learn to fight, forgive, and resolve conflict through our sibling relationships. - Caring for aging or ill parents is one of the biggest stress points in sibling relationships. - Unresolved childhood hurts and favoritism can resurface decades later if never addressed. ## Topics & Timestamps - 00:00 — Intro to sibling therapy trend - 00:23 — NYT article & Karen Gail Lewis's book - 01:10 — Elisa reflects on her own sibling relationship - 02:42 — Jojy's brothers and shifting closeness over time - 03:37 — NYT case study: brothers' physical power dynamic - 07:24 — Siblings outlive parent & friend relationships - 08:20 — "All you'll have is your sibling" — parental advice - 11:22 — Siblings as our first training ground for conflict - 14:51 — Caregiving for elderly parents as a strain point - 19:33 — Family reunion story: favoritism resurfacing - 23:52 — Unresolved childhood hurts and the "inner child" - 26:26 — Fear of losing siblings vs. losing parents ## Mentioned in This Episode - "Sibling Therapy Is on the Rise, So My Brother and I Gave It a Shot" — NYT Magazine article by Daniel Bergner - Karen Gail Lewis — therapist specializing in sibling therapy - "Sibling Therapy: The Ghosts From Childhood That Haunt Your Client's Love and Work" — book by Karen Gail Lewis ## Hosts - Jojy - Elisa Marie

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  The Deconstructed Woman

  Secrets

  Sep 8, 202631 min

  When a Secret Changes Everything What would you do if the person you love confessed to a crime — would loyalty or conscience win? Elisa and Jojy dive into a loaded question sparked by the novel The Husband's Secret: if your spouse or close friend revealed they had committed a crime, would you turn them in — or protect them? The conversation quickly moves beyond the hypothetical as both hosts examine their own moral frameworks, their limits as rule-followers, and what it actually costs to carry a secret. From accidental tragedies to calculated cover-ups, the hosts wrestle with where loyalty ends and accountability begins. They explore how decision-making styles, mental bandwidth, a sense of justice, and fear of consequence all shape the choices we'd make — and acknowledge that most of us won't know our real answer until we're standing in that moment. ## Key Takeaways - Both hosts identify as rule-followers, making secret-keeping feel like an active moral violation - The mental and physical toll of holding a heavy secret is often underestimated in the moment - Accidental harm and deliberate crime occupy very different moral territory — context matters - Keeping a secret often requires sustaining a web of lies, which compounds the burden - Loyalty to a spouse can conflict directly with accountability — and there's no clean answer - How you make everyday decisions reveals how you'd respond to an extreme moral dilemma ## Topics & Timestamps - 00:00 — Intro: The Husband's Secret sparks the question - 01:14 — Rule-followers: Jojy's framework - 03:07 — Families who stay silent: real-world cases - 05:01 — Mental burden and stress of secret-keeping - 08:54 — Lies compound: maintaining a cover story - 10:15 — Past vs. recent crimes: does timing matter? - 13:26 — Accidental harm and forgiveness (the TP story) - 15:25 — Elisa's criminal justice background and sense of justice - 17:04 — Husband asks Elisa directly: would you turn me in? - 19:48 — Real-world cases: child exploitation and betrayal - 22:13 — Moral conflict: the drug trade and integrity - 23:23 — Survival, desperation, and doing what you have to do - 26:08 — Wife in the book becomes physically ill from the secret - 27:14 — Long-term toll: what you can't predict when you decide - 29:08 — Podcast purpose: think now, so you're not blindsided later ## Mentioned in This Episode - The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty — novel that prompted the episode's central question - Jekyll and Hyde — referenced to describe the "double life" dynamic in betrayal - Criminal justice — Elisa's college major, shapes her strong sense of accountability ## Hosts - Jojy - Elisa Maria

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  The Deconstructed Woman

  Life With Siblings

  Aug 31, 202631 min

  Life With Siblings: Pros, Cons & What Kids Actually Learn Two moms unpack what siblings really teach us — and what only children might be missing. Hosts Jojy and Elisa Marie dive into a thought-provoking New York Times opinion piece arguing that larger sibling groups build moral character, resilience, and practical life skills in ways parents of smaller families often have to manufacture. Drawing on their own very different upbringings — Jojy as one of three, Elisa as a mom of four — they turn the article into a frank, personal conversation. From chore systems and household chaos to sibling rivalry and loneliness, the hosts weigh the real trade-offs of family size. They also tackle the article's most surprising claim: that the arrival of a new baby can sometimes do for a struggling older child what medication and therapy could not. ## Key Takeaways - Siblings provide built-in training in sharing, conflict resolution, and household responsibility — skills only children often have to learn elsewhere. - Working-mom households may drive chore culture as much as family size does. - Age gaps matter: siblings close in age tend to bicker more but bond faster; large gaps often produce a caregiver dynamic. - Only children can struggle with self-entertainment, overstimulation in groups, and navigating peer conflict they've never practiced at home. - Parents of one often compensate through sports leagues, summer camps, and structured extracurriculars — and it can work. - Keeping the door open on family size matters; permanent decisions made in one season of life may not reflect future desires. - 00:00 — Intro & NYT article overview - 01:04 — Elisa's first reaction: pros and cons of four kids - 02:06 — Jojy's three-sibling upbringing & age-gap dynamics - 04:30 — Household duties, closeness, and sibling caregiver roles - 06:29 — Chore systems: the Sunday chore dice game - 08:53 — Is working-mom status the real common denominator? - 12:44 — Socialization: sharing, conflict, and negotiation skills - 14:49 — What the article says small-family parents do instead - 15:54 — Only children as "small adults" & the entertainment burden - 17:04 — Neighborhood play then vs. now - 23:12 — The article's controversial claim: new siblings alleviating depression - 27:04 — Balanced takeaways & why family size is deeply personal ## Mentioned in This Episode - Catherine Ruth Pacholek — author of the NYT opinion piece; Executive Director, Institute for Human Ecology, Catholic University of America - New York Times, July 5th — opinion article on the developmental benefits of larger sibling groups ## Hosts - Jojy - Elisa Marie

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  The Deconstructed Woman

  Uncertain Times Uprooting Plans

  Aug 20, 202630 min

  Uncertain Times Two moms from different generations unpack the fear, uncertainty, and quiet optimism shaping modern family decisions. Jojy and Elisa dig into a New York Times piece asking why more people are opting out of parenthood — covering declining birth rates, economic instability, social media anxiety, and the looming shadow of AI on young careers. As a late-50s mom of one and an older millennial mom of four, they sit on opposite ends of the very data the article examines. The conversation moves from fear to cautious hope: cycles of crisis, the polycrisis concept, and why this generation's hyper-awareness of anxiety might actually be its greatest asset. They close not with answers, but with optimism — and an invitation for listeners to share where they land. ## Key Takeaways - Financial insecurity is real for millennials even when they "barreled through" and bought homes anyway - Social media and 24/7 news amplify uncertainty far beyond what previous generations experienced - AI is now threatening entry-level jobs in fields like computer science and marketing — right as new grads arrive - Global birth rates are falling even in countries with strong gender equity and financial incentives to have children - The "polycrisis" — multiple overlapping crises hitting closer together — may be what makes this era different from the Great Depression - Awareness of mental health struggles is a generational strength; you can't fix what you can't name ## Topics & Timestamps - 00:00 — Introducing the NYT article on declining parenthood - 01:52 — Elisa's older-millennial perspective and parental buffering - 04:22 — "I barreled through anyway": buying a home during COVID - 07:38 — First-time homebuyers today vs. previous generations - 08:05 — Raising the bar: millennial financial conscientiousness - 10:46 — Macro fears: wildfires, immigration, vaccine anxiety - 11:05 — Social media's role in amplifying global uncertainty - 13:29 — AI eliminating entry-level jobs for new grads - 17:24 — Declining birth rates worldwide, even in equitable nations - 21:21 — The polycrisis: crises stacking closer together - 24:37 — Signs of optimism: Obama Library, post-COVID travel relief - 28:14 — Closing call for listener voices across generations ## Mentioned in This Episode - Inconceivable: The Impossibility of Family in an Age of Uncertainty — Anna Louie Sussman; source article author's book - The Coddling of the American Mind — referenced re: generational victimhood mindset - The Anxious Generation — referenced re: social media and youth anxiety - Kamala Harris first-time homebuyer credit — policy mentioned as relevant to younger buyers - Obama Presidential Library opening — cited as a personal catalyst for renewed optimism

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