The Expiry Date of Women

The year Meryl Streep turned 40 years old, she was offered 3 separate roles as a witch. Approaching Taylor Swift's 30th birthday, Stefan Molyneux tweeted "I can’t believe Taylor Swift is about to turn 30 – she still looks so young! It’s strange to think that 90% of her eggs are already gone – 97% by the time she turns 40 – so I hope she thinks about having kids before it’s too late! She’d be a fun mom. :)"  Leonardo Dicaprio, who is 48 years old, has never dated anyone older than 25 years old (his newest girlfriend is 19 years old). The Evil Queen was murderously envious of the young Snow White's beauty, Mother Gothel chased eternal youth, etc. It seems the worst thing a woman can do is age normally, and this concept has cultivated within our culture for hundreds--if not thousands--of years.

 

"You look great for your age!" At a certain age, it is expected for women to look younger than they are. To age naturally is to be subpar. However, aging men do not have these same standards. No one bats as eye when George Clooney (61), Vin Diesel (55), or Brad Pitt (59) plays a romantic lead. The average age of People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive is 39; how many 39-year-old female models can you think of?. Natural effects of aging, such as gray hairs, are often celebrated in men with names such as silver fox. But how often have you heard the phrases anti-aging, anti-wrinkle, ageless, or rejuvinating in women's cosmetics? Take a look at these magazine covers:

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The woman on the left's (Nicole Kidman) skin has been editted to concel all signs of aging. There are no lines around her smile, her neck, her forehead, her eyes, or virtually elsewhere. The man on the left has had zero smoothing done to his skin. He has very obvious forehead lines, crows feet, and smile lines that were not editted. Nicole Kidman is very beautiful, but she has signs of aging like everyone else. For whatever reason, these signs of aging are resisted and looked down upon. Christian Rudder, founder of OKCupid, shared data in his book titled Dataclysm about the age ranges that men find the most attractive in women vs. what age ranges women find men the most attractive.

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Charts like these make it abundently clear that, to many, women have an expiry date while men do not.


The age at which woman are not allowed to look their age is seemingly getting younger and younger. Preventative botox, a relatively new concept, encourages women to get botox in their 20s to prevent facial movement. Yes, the science behind this phenomenom is to inhibit facial movement to prevent wrinkling. Less visible emotion=looking better apparently. Botox is rapidly overtaking young women's minds, and those women are beginning to develop an addiction to over-analysizing their natural againg process.

Do you think women are treated differently as they age?

Do you think this treatment is comparable to how aging-men are treated?

What are your thoughts on preventative botox?

 

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/chrissy-teigen-calls-out-weird-man-for-tweeting-about-taylor-swifts-fertility.html/

https://www.scarymommy.com/aging-in-hollywood-photoshopping-jameela-jamil

https://people.com/tag/sexiest-man-alive/

https://imgix.bustle.com/scary-mommy/2018/12/age-feature.jpg?w=740&h=416&fit=crop&crop=faces&auto=format%2Ccompress&q=50&dpr=2

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/22/well/live/preventative-botox-wrinkles.html

https://stylecaster.com/women-prefer-men-their-own-age-while-men-only-like-20-year-olds-new-study/

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Replies

  • This is such a good topic and write up Vanessa! You alwasy blow me away with your topics and writing skills. It deserved many more comments!

  • I definetely think that women have it harder when it comes to aging. Even now we are given ads for "anti-aging" creams and makeup that is supposed to cover up acne. However, when a guy has acne nobody tells them that they need to get rid of it or they are ugly. Women face much harsher beauty standards than men.

  •  I definitely think that men and women are treated differently as they age, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. I think it is just because men and women age differently and there is nothing wrong with that.  I do not think that people should use preventative botox because it is not good for you.

    • I don't agree that women and men age differently. I think we tend to view women as aging worse or quicker than men because of what I previously stated. It's a societal perception and not actually true. Everyone has to go through aging and it shouldn't be looked down upon.

  • I think that women are treated differently as they age. I don't think it is comparable to how aging-men are treated and should both have the same treatment. I personally wouldn't use preventative botox but I feel that society shouldn't push it. It should just be the person's decision.

  • I think that the older a woman gets the more she gets treated as if she is running out of her use. as if her whole purpose of being here is to reproduce. I think it is unfair and gross, women should not be treated like this in 2023.

    • I didn't touch on that a whole lot in my post but yes, I agree it definitely is very close-knit with a woman's fertility. To a certain extent, we tend to group women in two groups: children and mothers. Many people forget about woman once they surpass the mothering stage/age.

  • I think that when women start to get older they are not treated the same compared to an older man. Women are to believe that if they have gray hair they need to dye it to a natural hair color while men just let their hair turn gray. If an item is marked for a women it will like you said say ageless and wrinkle free promoting the mentality that women need to look like they are 20 when they are really 50. If ladies find the need to get preventative Botox they should but they should not feel pressured by society to get it.

    • I agree. A person's beauty does not diminish as they age. They look different, but not worse. I think we as a culture understand this concept with men, which is why there are plenty of middle-aged male heartthrobs. This concept is forgotten when it comes to women, however.

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