Older women can get away with more. Check out Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Judi Dench.

I have a sign on my desk that says, "Well-behaved women rarely make history." The quote was attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt but was penned by Harvard professor Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. Nonetheless, Eleanor is an excellent example of a woman accused of not behaving properly and certainly making history.

You must admit that women have had eons of training about how to behave correctly, but the rules seem to be changing. And most importantly, the rules are changing for older women. It appears that the older a woman gets, the more freedom she has to speak her mind and make history.

Jane Fonda is a prime example. For all the controversy she created early in her life, I think people are willing to listen to her now that she's in her 80s. Perhaps some people are beginning to forgive her for the brashness of her youth.

After all, as Carl Jung says, “We cannot live the afternoon of life according to the program of life’s morning … what in the morning was true, at evening will have become a lie.”

Some say Fonda isn't behaving appropriately for an 84-year-old as she gets arrested for protesting climate change. Likewise, after spending decades as a fitness guru, she now talks freely about her multiple joint replacements and recent cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Fonda and her best friend, actress Lily Tomlin, who is 83, take on very controversial topics in the TV series "Grace and Frankie." Older women can get away with more!

Another champion among older women is British actress Dame Judi Dench. At 87, her voice is loud and clear about many topics, especially aging. Her lead role in "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" was my personal favorite.

Her newest movie debuting this month called "Allelujah" is a dark comedy about the closing of a geriatric ward. She says: "The attitude of society toward aging is wrong. It is blatantly wrong. I'm tired of being told I'm too old to try something."

What if women quit worrying about all the things that occupied their thoughts for years, things like emulating every stick-thin magazine model or hiding our wrinkles and covering our gray hair? What if we gave up perfectionism when it comes to our homes and our children or dared to be outspoken about things we are passionate about?

Perhaps, as poet Donna Ashworth says, we’d become, “an army of furious old women that will take over the world.”

Age imbues power to those that will embrace the journey. Why would we mourn the loss of youth when age is where we get our power and freedom? I leave you with some more thoughts from Ashworth.

"Don't prioritize your looks my friend, as they won't last the journey. Your sense of humor though, will only get better with age. Your intuition will grow and expand like a majestic cloak of wisdom. Your ability to choose your battles will be fine-tuned to perfection. Your capacity for stillness, for living in the moment, will blossom. … Prioritize the uniqueness that makes you you, and the invisible magnet that draws in other like-minded souls to dance in your orbit."

Find Connie’s book, “Daily Cures: Wisdom for Healthy Aging,” at www.justnowoldenough.com.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Judi Dench are making history with words