Aging naturally
There are conflicting messages in the media regarding aging.
Big surprise there, I know.
On one hand, there’s a multi-billion dollar industry full of products and ideas to help us to “defy” aging, and, on the other hand there’s a growing trend to celebrate aging “naturally”.
I’ve never fully subscribed to either camp, but, I never been able to articulate why, but, author Jane Glenn Hass puts it very well in her article, Natural aging doesn’t work for all women:
…I had some — ahem — “work” done to rid myself of a neck that made me look like a walrus and bags under my eyes that I could touch with my toes, I was upbraided at a national conference on aging.
“We should be allowed to age naturally,” a prominent sociologist scolded me in a public forum. “We should be proud of our years.”
Of course, she had a stunning chin line and a natural white streak in her natural granite-colored hair. She also had a terrific figure. She could strut her stuff at any age.
I’m not opposed to aging. I particularly applaud anyone who ages well.
And a backlash against fear of aging is appropriate.
But along with a backlash comes a new image for older women. One that I cannot match.
That’s it, that’s what bugs me.
Some of the “aging naturally” camp is, whether deliberately, or, inadvertently, actually setting yet another standard that people, women especially, can’t meet.
Not only do we have to look fantastic through our adult years, we also have to look even more fantastic as we age, yet, at that point we are told we have to do it “naturally”.
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Aging
1 opinion for Aging naturally
JayMonster
May 31, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Now, this may seem a little backwards, but allow me to say, Welcome to a man’s world of image crisis.
While yes, women have image crisis at virtually all ages thanks to unrealistic images from media and such. At least before it was that. Unrealistic. And while only recently did people (women) actually start to rebel against it and speak out against it, it was always “whispered” that such was “not real”
Now, you come on to the world that “middle age” men have battled for years. The “old adage” that men “get more distinguished.” And while men don’t talk about it as much as women do, there is a clear trend to try and be the “distinguished gentleman” we see, because it is a “real” standard that we are up against. We have the “still looking good at 985″ year old Sean Connery (or enter your choice of distinguished male here) that we have always had to battle against.
The real difference of course is that a man will only work so hard on actual appearance, before relenting and compensating with that “mid-life crisis” purchase like a sports car.
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: