An obsession with the process of aging is becoming more and more prevalent in America.
We have twenty-year-old girls starting to use anti-wrinkle cream in order to start early in preventing their skin from showing signs of age. Middle-aged and older women are getting plastic surgery, microderm abrasion and Botox to try and look as young as possible. As Ellen’s opening statement in her Cover Girl Simply Ageless commercial states, “Inner beauty is important, but not nearly as important as outer beauty” has become an anthem for American women. We associate getting older with being less beautiful, even having less value as a human being, and advertisements like this reinforce that mentality.
Ultimately, our makeup and anti-aging preferences aren’t going to keep us young, make us who we are, define our relationships, change a life or make us truly happy. So, why do we stress so much about our age, our wrinkles, our makeup and clothes? Outer beauty may make us feel more comfortable and confident, but it’s fleeting. Inner beauty is what is more important; it’s things like being a friend, loving your family, enjoying your surroundings, sharing knowledge and looking back on memories.
Maybe we should spend less time scrutinizing ourselves for the way our faces and body change as we age, and look at it as how much we have experienced and loved our lives. How would our lives be impacted if we saw fewer media telling us how much we need to change who we already are? What do you think advertisers’ motives are in telling us things like this? Do you think they might be affected by it, too?
What’s so wrong with getting old? Isn’t that a part of life, just like being born? Have you ever thought about it before?
Think of wrinkles like a smile, a “life well lived”.
Well, you ladies are young…tell us what YOU think below!
(This series of articles is from Lauren Hays and the Between the Sheets women focused on what it means to be beautiful. You can find more analysis of media messages and the portrayal of women in the media on their blog.)
Find more of their media analysis in the beauty section.
