Look babes, we’re all aging, at least we hope so, because the alternative isn’t exactly tops. So why is it that when women age, we are somehow considered less? Less beautiful, less powerful, less fill-in-the-blank? We at Bare Elegance Boudoir think that’s a load of you-know-what, and here’s why.
Ideal Feminine Beauty
Not to get too technical here, but the definition of feminine beauty is "the socially constructed notion that physical attractiveness is one of women's most important assets". The key phrase there is “socially constructed”. That means that what it means to be beautiful depends on time and place. Beauty has changed, and will continue to change, so it’s basically impossible to fit the ideal.
Beyond that, it’s interesting to think that in some cultures, aging is an empowering thing for women. Many Native American tribes consider elder women to be paragons of wisdom, and that they are to be respected and learned from, and they aren’t the only ones. So what happened in America to make us lose this idea?
Patriarchy and Aging
This can get a little dense, so we’ll keep it short and sweet. Basically, the patriarchy exists based on the idea that women are naturally weaker than men. The myth states that men are stronger physically and mentally for longer in their lives, giving them more “value” than women. This is obviously false, but is something that we still struggle against today.
Patriarchal thinking implies that since women are “weaker” to start with, they only get weaker with age, so their value to society decreases with age.
Listen, not to get gruesome, but there’s a reason the majority of survivors of disasters like the Donner Party were women. The female body (and mind) is created to survive disasters better than men. It’s science. So what’s up, society?
Capitalism and the Patriarchy
Capitalism would function best if no humans were involved, like, at all. But we do, and when capitalism was introduced in American history, we were also in a highly patriarchal society. Capitalism rewards those who create (money, jobs, art, things that at least seem of physical value to society) and when practiced in a society that already steals the work of women and oppresses them, Capitalism benefits those who steal and oppress. After all, if you can claim
credit for the work of someone who doesn’t have the right to fight you for the credit, you get profit for zero work!
That’s why recent films like Hidden Figures have gone out of their way to show what oppressed women have added to our lives. Another recent example is the film Big Eyes, but while that story had a “happy” ending, that situation has existed forever, folks, and still exists today. If we got into the concept of emotional work, the female-workload versus the male-workload, we’d be here all day. But as women age and their “value” decreases even further, it can seem like an impossible trap.
Embracing Age
So here’s the takeaway, babes. Aging doesn’t make you less beautiful. In fact, according to science, you will always be valuable both physically and mentally. And when age means you get wiser, your value is going up. So those laugh lines on your face? Gorgeous. Those grey hairs? Warrior glitter. Don’t be afraid to snap those sexy selfies just because someone tells you that you’re too old for that stuff. Wear that daring outfit, even if someone tells you it’s not “age appropriate”, because those words mean nothing when it comes down to it. Age IS beauty, and you should rep that until the end.
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Written By Kasey Schroer