Beauty is a form of genius ~ Oscar Wilde
So why embrace aging mindsets? Or should we?
The pursuit of beauty is such a contentious topic.
Sarah: You should embrace aging.
Ally: No. Have some pride in your looks. You don’t want to shock people with your bare face! Dye your white hairs. Smooth out the wrinkles on your face.
It seems like embracing aging is a thing or whatever it is; and if you do skincare routines, like doing the same things younger females do, or put on makeup to resist it, you are not accepting yourself.
The embrace aging movement is certainly a move in the right direction but I cannot help but think that it is superficial progress. Whether a woman tries to look younger than her age with procedures, or embrace age in her 40s or 50s, it does not matter. There are advantages to looking good and feeling good! If a 60-year old grandma wishes to wear yoga tights and show off her fitness skills in the gymnasium or on Instagram, that is inspiring! Not cringe!
We should not make resisting aging the new benchmark to blindly adhere to, but instead ask myself, ourselves what is that we fear about aging- the societal limitations that we face? The differences that we face in people’s treatment of us as we grow older?
Would it be more meaningful perhaps to focus on breaking the age stereotypes in the layman’s societal mindset, instead of critiquing women’s style preferences?
Some cliche perceptions.
A 60-year old can’t take up motorbiking, sell her company and stay in backpacking hostels around the world!
21-year old and already married with her second child coming! Cult? Brainwashed?
In her 40s and having a child! ?
A young 16- year old influencer earning millions! So shallow females nowadays! Haha..
In her 50s with two grown-up children and wanting a child again!
Certainly, husbands, wives and partners who love their wives and have grown with them will not mind their aging. So why shouldn’t we embrace aging?
But judging a 50-year old in yoga tights who does the new social media dance move is not progression. In fact, it is a new form of judgement. Thinking whether it is tasteful or tasteless reeks of Popularity Class 101.
For women who are aging, they love to challenge their limits and feel young too. Perhaps what we are chasing are the limitless possibilities and good treatment from others that we feel before age increases our jadedness? Thus, why shame older women for trying to stay young and being interested in the things younger females are interested in?
Video on Leanne Morgan helps mature women own their age in hilarious Laura Geller Beauty ad | The Drum , accessed 19 October 2024
https://www.thedrum.com/news/2024/04/09/leanne-morgan-helps-mature-women-own-their-age-hilarious-laura-geller-beauty-ad
However, apparently there is a wrong way to woman and embrace aging in the video above. This ad seems outrageous! Hahaha (⊙.⊙(☉̃ₒ☉)⊙.⊙)It’s supposed to be funny but it can feel like bullying. And I have not seen any older women who act like that in real life. Do you feel good after watching that video or more insecure? Having second thoughts about wearing that top? It may look too ‘young’! Haha.
I think it is a joy and motivation to look young as a female as you grow older in years, and look young together as a couple too. This is NOT to advocate being obsessed with looking the youngest you can be , going for procedures every single month.
Similarly, showing off your maturity and age is beautiful too as evidenced by the various older influencers below.
Just saying it is superficial to ask women to embrace aging or not do “young things” just because they are a certain age. XO
Screenshot captured on Influencers over 50 are changing the conversation on aging - ABC News (go.com) , accessed Oct 20, 2024
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Living/influencers-50-changing-conversation-aging/story?id=109363636
Past posts:
https://sillysmartatom.substack.com/p/book-review-paulo-coelhos-eleven
https://sillysmartatom.substack.com/p/thoughts-on-land-space-and-democracy
https://sillysmartatom.substack.com/p/podcasts-that-nourish-me-recommendations
https://sillysmartatom.substack.com/p/book-review-of-a-tiger-mums-manual
https://sillysmartatom.substack.com/p/how-do-shopping-malls-affect-democracy
https://sillysmartatom.substack.com/p/doodles-while-travelling
I don’t dye my hair, but I do look in the mirror with surprise sometimes to see that I look quite tired and older than I remember 😂. Thank you for this encouraging and beautiful article ☺️❤️
I’m seventy, and no plastic surgery because it’s expensive! Lol! What I do is look my best regardless of my age. I don’t have a problem with doing that for myself. Present your best foot forward.
By the way I’ve tried Laura Geller make up and gave it away. It did nothing for my appearance, although the lipsticks are good. I prefer Mallys makeup not even promoted for the older woman. AND my best secret is a product called embryolisse! I don’t know what it is about it, but it instantly makes my skin appear younger. Thank you Kasandra!