‘I also like the name Cougar-Chella’: Gen X mom makes fake poster for Perimenopause-a-Palooza. Then Alanis Morissette comments. Now it might happen
Why should Gen Z have all the fun? A Gen X mom previously went viral after making a poster for what she calls the Perimenopause-a-Palooza. And the craziest part? Now, it might just happen.
The original post, which has amassed 43,000 likes, was first made in August by content creator Beth Crosby, who is better known as The Garbage Mom. An actress by trade, the content creator has garnered a loyal TikTok following of 479,700 people by posting relatable, comedic content about life with perimenopause.
As for the Perimenopause-a-Palooza, the poster introduces the idea as “a music festival for people in cougar puberty,” and suggests amenities such as “HRT on tap,” ice baths, and “rage rooms for breaking [expletive].”
The aspiring artist lineup included Alanis, Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Queen Latifa, Tracy Bonham, Missy Elliott, Bikini Kill, Hole, and Rage Against the Machine.
“I am manifesting this into existence!” Crosby said in the post.
“Imagine a festival, for elder millennial and Gen X perimenopausal/menopausal women ONLY to rage-scream ‘MOTHER MOTHER’ by Tracy Bonham and belt-cry ‘Criminal’ by Fiona Apple!” she enthused.
“And HOLE, yes HOLE (!!) will reunite so we scream Courtney Love lyrics while throwing ourselves into a (sensible) mosh-pit while we RAGE at the world together.”
“And the booths?!” Crosby continued, “Every hormone replacement therapy you can imagine! Bottomless lattes! And bins of reading glasses, hand held fans and ENDLESS snicky-snacks.”
While this poster might have started out as a bit of harmless fun, it looks like Crosby’s manifesting worked, with Alanis Morissette commenting at the time: “Calling promoters now.”
Now, it’s actually happening
Nearly six months on, Crosby has confirmed that the festival is in the works, tagging Morissette in a Facebook post and writing, “I’m working on making this festival REAL! Cant wait to fill y’all in on the deets once we can announce them.”
In the reel itself, which was a re-upload of a TikTok Crosby originally posted in August, the influencer said: “Had thousands and thousands of people see the poster, like the poster, and hundreds of people reaching out to me to make this happen. I don’t know how I became this person, but I’m going to be the one to help make this happen. We’ve been blessed. By God. Please keep commenting the artists that you want to see there, the booths that you want there, and if you are someone that can literally can make this happen, I mean, someone who has connections, reach out to me.”
She then pointed to a screenshot of Morissette’s comment and declared, “The best day of my life!”
Crosby didn’t immediately respond to The Mary Sue’s request for comment via Facebook comment and email.
How did commenters react?
In the comment section, users couldn’t be more enthusiastic—that is, provided that there are the right facilities. “I’d go, but there has to be seats and AC,” one quipped.
“For God’s sake, there must be ample seating,” a second commenter echoed.
“I need to be there,” a third said. “Please please please please!”
Commenters even started offering their own assistance to make the event happen. “Incredible idea,” a fourth enthused. “We can dream. I’m in. I will help.”
While a fifth added, “Woohooo!!!!!! Event planner and happy to help.”
What is the perimenopause?
The perimenopause is the process a female’s body goes through as it begins to prepare itself for the menopause.
It usually occurs in a woman’s forties, although Mayo Clinic notes that some women might experience it as early as their thirties or as late as their fifties.
While there are other symptoms—including hot flushes, vaginal dryness, sleep problems and mood changes—the main symptom of the perimenopause is increasingly irregular periods that are affected by fluctuating levels of estrogen in your body.
Once you have gone 12 months without a period, that means the perimenopause is over and you are now in the menopause.
Update Feb. 17, 2025:
In an email interview with The Mary Sue, Crosby confirmed that the festival was in “active development.”
“Over the past few months my producing partner and I have had real conversations with festival producers, promoters, potential talent and brands about how to build this in a way that’s worthy of the audience that wants it,” she said. “[S]ince August, it’s gone from a viral video to a serious development process, which is crazy and so exciting. We don’t want to just throw an event together; we want to build something that could possibly live beyond just one weekend.”
She went on to explain how she re-posted the TikTok because “people just won’t stop asking about it!”
“Every time I post about it I get DMs and comments from women asking, ‘Where can I buy tickets?’ ‘Please make this happen!’” she added. “So I posted to let people know we are working on it, and to keep the conversation going while we figure out the best way to build it.”
She added that the response to the project has been “overwhelming,” and that “even though [she hasn’t] posted any new videos about our behind-the-scenes progress recently, the DM’s, comments and excitement around it hasn’t slowed down.”
Along with Alanis’ comment, Crosby noted how Tracy Bonham, LeAnne Rimes, SaltNPeppa, Lisa Loeb “and a bunch more have commented publicly,” along with brands, artists, and “industry people” who have reached out in private.
“Perimenopause-a-Palooza was born from the belief that we midlife women deserve a festival of their own, one specifically made for this chapter, for women who still want to laugh, dance, cry, scream-sing to the music that raised them and, most importantly, feel completely seen,” Crosby said. “Also, perimenopause is FINALLY being talked about openly. There’s a huge cultural shift happening, and this feels like a natural extension of that.”
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