The Cut: Dewy, un-creased twentysomethings have long been held up as the essence and ideal of womanhood in popular culture. But you know the mania for youth has reached new heights when glossy magazines allow no more than three wrinkles on the faces that grace their covers and people — Kim Kardashian, for example — go so far as to retouch their selfies before posting them on Instagram. Sure, there are frequent stories about how “30 is the new 20” or “50 is the new 30,” but rarely do we see women over a certain age — unretouched, unapologetic, not medically intervened upon — held up as desirable or admirable, or even held up at all.
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I enjoy seeing all the wisdom these women have towards age and living life - because they really have lived it. It is very interesting to see how down to earth people can be, even after a lifetime of hard work and luxury. The quote I have the most problem with is: "It’s horrible getting older, I have to tell you. I mean, it’s wonderful because you see the circles of life get completed, you know. But it’s horrible losing your looks. Horrible. If you’ve been a pretty woman and always pursued by lovers, losing that and not having that — it feels like a great loss ... I’ve always had men pursue me. I’ve always had that ‘it’ thing. God knows why. Maybe it’s pheromones, I don’t know." —Erica Jong, This seems to me to be very vain and unaccepting of how life moves on and changes. Other than that, most other women seem to have a grasp on the changing articles of life.
A lot of times actors are perceived as people who when they get too old, either need to get plastic surgery or stop acting. Seeing so many famous women not give a crap about that is very inspiring. My favorite quote was Woopi Goldberg's one where she says that the alternative to growing older is death, and I dont want to deal with that. This is a very smart observation. That women are perceived as almost 'not allowed' to get older. but when you look at it from Woopi's perspective, it seems a lot nicer than people make it out to be.
This was really lovely to read. I'm so glad that so many of these women have embraced growing older, especially those who talk about keeping a youthful outlook on life and recognizing that their body is only their body and it does not define them. Clearly the media is obsessed with youth and staying young- the fact that so many celebrities get plastic surgery to hold on to their appearance makes that obvious. This is why I love the quote from Diane von Furstenberg about wrinkles- that they just show who you were and who you are. I have always loved faces with wrinkles- they are so interesting, much more interesting than perfect Botox faces. Laugh lines make a person's face so lovely. It's really encouraging to read about women who have had to spend their whole lives obsessing over their looks presenting such a healthy and motivating view towards life.
What an incredible article. I've always loved the concept of getting older and getting wrinkles and watching my hair turn grey. I wonder how I'll feel about it when I'm actually older.
For me, the best part of this article is how these women are so well known and saying such important things. Girls these days look up to people like Kate Upton who are the epitome of youth. And while I love that she's a little curvy and not the picture perfect typical image, I hope she takes aging as gracefully as these women have. It's important for people who are seen as idols for people to speak out about loving yourself in all your forms. This is something the entertainment industry has the opportunity to do more than anyone but doesn't often do enough. Some of the women in here are very transparent about how it feels to be a great beauty who is now aging, and I was surprised to hear Erica Jong's perspective about it being horrible. I think it's a great example of why we crave youth so much as a culture. However, I was struck by how honest that statement was and I really appreciated how honest she was about it. It's brave to admit when it's hard to like yourself as a celebrity too. Hopefully she starts to love her wrinkles and older qualities.
This article reminds me of a few documentaries about women in the media that I've watched in the past few months. In the documentaries, many people mentioned that our TV shows and films curiously don't feature as many older women as they do men. Not-so-surprisingly, the median age of women in television ranges from early 20s to mid 30s. After 40, women seem to vanish from civilized life--which we all know not to be true. Film and TV impress upon young women the false truism that your most prime years are the ones where you can maintain your beauty and your sexuality. They seek to sell us products that peel back years off our skin, to deny that the wrinkles in our skin mean we've lived full, even happy lives. I have to say my favorite quote from this article was Diane von Furstenburg's. "Your wrinkles reflect the roads you have taken; they form the map of your life." Her words send to me a very powerful message about appreciating memories in both an emotional and physical sense. I hope when I grow older I'll remember what I've read and heard, and not fall too hard on myself for the smile lines and crow's feet I'll be sure to get.
I am currently taking a gender studies elective, Body Politics: Women's Health in America. A lot of the class has been a discussion on how women are viewed and treated based on their looks and the lack of looks that they may have. It has caused many women to behave in over the top ways to make up for what they are genetically lacking. There is no such thing as the perfect women and the sooner young girls realize that the netter off they will be. It is nice to hear from women who have been put in the spotlight and judged for the looks publicly that looks are not everything. If only more teenage girls read about this and less about Kate Upton's perfect body, there may be a lower rate of eating disorders amongst young people.
This was really nice to read. I think society praises youth a little too much. So much that we who are young and have no wrinkles, perky breasts, no bat wings, no hips, etc. take it for granted and then we waist time complaining about the parts we don't like. When you look at all the quotes and put them together it's actually a great lesson for every girl out there. Erica Jong was saying how she hated growing older because when she was young and pretty she got all of that attention and Whoopi was saying, well, you got two options, get older or die. It's about looking at things in perspective. It's okay to wish some aspects of yourself were different, nobody is perfect! But your life shouldn't be focused on those imperfections (that actually make you perfect!), it's about understanding that this is how life works and that aging is beautiful. I love what DVF said about how wrinkles show one's life's journey. I think that's beautiful. Time has always been a big deal for me, every since I was in 2nd grade when I realized how aging worked and saw how much older my parents were to me and it always scared me to see time pass. But you know, we all have to stop worrying about the future, leave that in the future. We need to start loving the now and understanding that the changes in life are beautiful because they are the natural order of things. Us aging and getting older is just as beautiful as being young if not more beautiful. Young people (including myself) are stupid and well, young! Where I am going with this is that being alive is awesome, (yeah yeah it really sucks sometimes but it is). Just being alive is amazing in itself and if aging is part of being alive, then by god, it's amazing too. YAY!
This is great. We need to hear more from these women-- both those in our industry and all over. It is ridiculous first that a person could seem less useful once they age-- these women are prim examples of the fact that things only get better! Secondly, our nations worship of youth is unreasonable to the point of comedy. People will continue to exist after the age of 30. People live, and love and lose, so it's not exactly ridiculous that there might be a movie about a woman's life at 55. So why aren't there more? Are we as a country so obsessed with youth and sexual appeal that we have completely disregarded the talents and stories of an entire demographic? The answer saddens me. I hope to start to see more work starring women of all ages from here on out.
I think the idea of women aging is interesting. Even as little girls women can recognize that there is a prime age for being a woman and we can't wait to be old enough. Although I have not yet reached the age where i just want to be younger, It seems ridiculous that i would want to. It's like what many of the women in this artifice said, you know more and can understand more when you are older but you are still the same person you have always been. Plus, there is something magical, at least for me, to think about being old and watching my family be in the prime of their lives all around me. I cannot see that at this age.
I think it's truly fantastic that women are speaking out about being older. Men don't have the same social standards that women "have to live up to". Sure, these women are famous, but that just means that their lives are under more of a magnifying glass than the average woman's. I like that these women are talking about how age really doesn't affect their lives as much as people expect it to. I think it's important to embrace whatever you are, age included. I never understood why it is considered impolite to ask a woman her age. She has just as much dignity and authority as a 60 year old as she did as a 25 year old. Age needs to be made less important in our society, and I think making it seem normal is a good step forward.
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