Changing societal images of older women can be accomplished in a few different ways. One simple way is to stop portraying them as little, old, helpless, gray headed women sitting in a nursing home. Menopausal women are in their 50's on average and they are not old and crippled. Has anyone seen Marie Osmond lately? She is 51 years old and looks super hot! She, and others like her, could be the poster girls for aging women! And many of them are not gray headed! So replace the gray headed ladies in advertisements with 52 year old brunettes or 55 year old redheaded women! Back in the 1950's, only seven percent of women colored their gray hairs. Today, that has changed and 75% of all women now color their hair (TLC, 2011).
Beyond physical looks, the ladies that are aging gracefully have new attitudes, fit lifestyles and healthy bodies. Society does tend to view the negative aspects of aging (Kam, 2011). For society to change their outdated view, the women themselves will need to lead by example of how to age gracefully. They need to keep living to the full! Society (people) will take notice. Their views will change when they see the change. They will be encouraged to know that there is more to life than just the people who are under 40! Besides, the 50's are the new 40's!
References
Kam, K. (2011). The art of aging gracefully. Retrieved from
http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/features/the-art-of-aging-gracefully
TLC. (2011). Hair coloring guide. Retrieved from
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/style/hair-coloring.htm
Rachel Buckley Blog Comment #1:
ReplyDeleteBecca,
I really like your blog this week. I felt that it was very positive and upbeat. I especially found the statistic on older women dying their hair to be interesting- I'm sure companies like Clariol and L'Oreal are thrilled for the increased business! Another woman who I think has aged very gracefully is the British actress Helen Mirren. Helen Mirren is 65 years old, postmenopausal, and absolutely gorgeous. In my opinion, she is like a fine wine that only greats better with age! She is constantly talked about in the media for her ageless beauty- I just hope that this is a future trend!
Yor blog was very good and I have to agree with you my mother tells me all the time "the 50s are in baby." I do feel that some older women take a different outlook on their lives and a lot of older women look beautiful and age gracefully but still maintain the up keep of their bodies and look absolutely fabulous. Aging and menopause are a beautiful thing that we all young and older women will need to embrace sooner or later and be able to accept the change.
ReplyDeleteDeAndrea Miller