I was paging through one of the many magazines I subscribe to (something I'll have to put on hold during my coming year's sojourn in Costa Rica) and I couldn't help but notice all of the articles and advertisements about "looking younger". As a 34-year-old woman who has always appeared younger than my years, I usually don't even give these articles a glance. But for some reason, this time it really annoyed me. Why are we as women so focused on looking younger? For that matter, men are guilty of this too. What's wrong with aging gracefully? Does looking younger (and let's face it: most of the older celebs who've been "freshened up" don't really look younger--they look SCARY. I mean, have you SEEN Kenny Rogers lately??) actually make us any younger? And why is it that older men are "distinguished" but women are just old?
Why stress about each gray hair? Shouldn't we at least be thankful that we still have hair? Why stress about each little wrinkle? Aren't they the hallmarks of a life of mirth and laughter? Why stress because once perky body parts aren't quite so perky anymore? After all, we're not Barbie dolls. Gravity does take its toll in the most interesting ways. Most women say that they wouldn't go back to the days of their youth for anything, so why do we vainly grasp at the way we used to look?
I absolutely love seeing pictures of Diane Keaton. She looks her age. She is graceful and elegant and beautiful, wrinkles and all. She takes care of herself (which we all should) but doesn't appear to go out of her way to look 30 again. I dearly wish more Hollywood actresses and celebrities would model this graceful aging mentality.
At any rate, I plan to keep all of my gray hairs--no coloring for me, thank you. I will not be purchasing miracle serums that promise younger skin overnight. I plan to keep those wrinkles, as I get them, moisturized and in plain sight on my face. During this process of developing a healthier me, I will not fret if my skin (or anything else) is not as taut or firm as it was in my younger, thinner days.
And I will certainly never shy away from telling people how old I am--even when my appearance has caught up with my age and I no longer look younger than my years!
SO true!! like every woman, i've been worring about the tolls gravity has been taking on me. this was a gentle smack on the head i needed.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shurie. I think it's definitely something we each have to decide for ourselves as women. How we chose to view ourselves is up to us--at any age. I can't tell you how many "self-help" articles have stated the importance of loving our bodies and our features no matter what they look like in the mirror. One even suggested just staring at the reflection in the mirror until all we see is just shapes. Just shapes. Not a nose too big, bushy eyebrows, puffy cheeks, thin lips, etc.
ReplyDelete