November is my favourite month. It’s sunny and warm, the jacarandas are flowering and it’s birthday time.
I’m not one of those girls who downplays their birthday. In a couple of weeks I hit 32, and while I once would’ve thought that was ancient, I now know 30+ year-olds still ride BMXs, dance to dub step and make new friends.
Sure, I rarely pull an all-nighter these days and I even listen to AM radio in the morning (love ya, Fran), but getting old is totes worth celebrating.
It worries me how much women stress about aging. I too am guilty of it. If a grey hair rears its head I vainly yank out before anyone notices. I don’t want to look older than I feel.
Every year Mum would ask for some scientific-sounding face cream for her birthday when dad would be happy with a new polo shirt. She’d then tell me to moisturise so I didn’t end up with crow’s feet like my father. “They’re smile lines”, I’d say. “Dad’s just happy.” But knowing how cruel society can be, mum was probably doing me a favour.
Fairytales might come true if you’re young at heart – but looking young helps a whole lot too. That’s what pop culture has us girls believing.
When you turn on the telly you see stacks more old blokes than women, and sadly, many of the 50+ aged chicks on screen have sacrificed their facial expressions for a “youthful” appearance. The occasional man has too, but you get the feeling Sam Newman’s bizarrely stretched face is more about vanity than social pressure.
While older men are “silver foxes”, older women should move on and “give some of the younger girls an opportunity”. This shit needs to change.
I was stoked when 43-year-old Cate Blanchett graced the cover of Intelligent Life mag earlier this year in all her unPhotoshopped beauty. Cate couldn’t look bad if she tried, but it was cool to see her looking naturally luminous for a change.
If this was the case for all glossy mags, maybe young girls would stop Photoshopping out their character lines before uploading a new Facebook profile pic.
Let’s be honest about our age and our looks and celebrate the learning that comes with getting on a bit. If that means a face full of smile lines, I couldn’t be happier.
INFO: You can follow Monique Schafter on Twitter @MoniqueSchafter
