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Devlin

Devlin

War Child
Joined
Sep 26, 2005
Messages
922
Location
Chicago
Why is it so important for women to look eternally young? As someone who does look very young -- I am often mistaken for twenty, despite being thirty four --, I can tell you it isn't nearly as much fun as you are led to believe by the media. You are not taken seriously. You get repeatedly asked about your 'beauty regime'.

I'm confused: what, exactly, is a 'beauty regime'? I don't have one. Nor do I want to develop one. Although I have my suspicions that all this 'beauty regimening (is that even a word?) and makeup applying actually causes wrinkles.

Perhaps, just perhaps, I ought to test the theory that sleeping in makeup adds ten years to one's face.

Huh. Wonder if I'll look thirty then?

I have even been offered tutoring in how to 'maintain my youthful glow'. Huh? Do I somehow come across to you as someone who wants a 'youthful glow'? If I looked any younger, I'd get harassed for being truant from grade school. Really.

Is it too much to ask for, is it really much too hard, for the the fashion and 'beauty' industry to come up with clothing that helps a person look their age? I'm not fond of the teenager look. I'd like to trade it in for a wrinkle or six, kthx.

Brought to you by the Council for Age-Appropriate Gear, Serious Frustration Organization, and the By God, Stop Asking Me That! Council.
 
Yes, Beaver she does. And she actually gave me permission to do so. However, your mommy called to have me tell you it's time for your nap and your sippy cup.
 
Devlin said:
Why is it so important for women to look eternally young?
Click to expand...

Because modern western society has deemed it so!

Society has told us we are no use to anyone once we gain an ounce of flab, a tiny wrinkle, or have stopped becoming birthing machines.

(Okay, I really only stand by the first part, and the second part is mostly an exaggeration.)

I'm 36 and don't mind looking younger. I like the looks of surprise I get when the cashier at the liquor store sees me ID. ;)
 
Devlin said:
What's to enjoy?
Click to expand...

Enjoy looking young?

I'm 37 and I get told I look in my 20s and I appreciate the compliment. I don't have fake boobs or botox or lip injections or anything like that so why not enjoy the fact that you look naturally young without having to make any unnatural enhancements like so many women out there do. By the time you're 50 or 60 you might be wishing you appreciated it more when you were younger.
 
I could see an issue if I were in my 30s and look 20 - I'm sure there would be situations where I'm not respected, or condescended to if people think I'm "just a kid."

Looking younger than you are gets better and better as you get older, but if you look THAT much younger, I could see how that could cause annoyances in some situations.
 
Sicy said:
Enjoy looking young?

I'm 37 and I get told I look in my 20s and I appreciate the compliment. I don't have fake boobs or botox or lip injections or anything like that so why not enjoy the fact that you look naturally young without having to make any unnatural enhancements like so many women out there do. By the time you're 50 or 60 you might be wishing you appreciated it more when you were younger.
Click to expand...

See, to me, it isn't a compliment. It's insulting. It makes life difficult for me. There are things I want to do in my life that are made harder by my perceived youth and inexperience. I have to work twice as hard to be considered half as good. There really are no advantages to me being looked at as a 'kid'.

Feh. All this might be amusing when I'm fifty. Maybe. Somehow, I doubt that very much.
 
I suppose if you look like a 'kid' I can see an issue with certain situations. What about trying a different hair style or the way you dress, get some sophisticated looking glasses, or you can borrow my grandma's earrings.. :wink:
 
Or try to interject the following sayings into conversation:

"You damn kids, get off my lawn!"

"Back in MY day ..."

"I have a whole stack of VHS tapes and 8-tracks to get through this week!"

:wink:
 
old-lady-787926.jpg
 
Haha! Crusty Grandma Devlin. Insert Tyler Perry's Madea.

Yes, Sicy, I'll borrow your grandma's earrings. That might work.
Yeah, I want to try a new way to dress. Everyone wants to sell me low-rise pants. Which... is a no. :p I think I'm going to have to get completely away from jeans. Go for something else. As far as hair, I've noticed that the shorter my hair is, the older I actually look. The longer it is, the younger I look. Creepy.
 
Devlin said:
Why is it so important for women to look eternally young? As someone who does look very young -- I am often mistaken for twenty, despite being thirty four --, I can tell you it isn't nearly as much fun as you are led to believe by the media. You are not taken seriously. You get repeatedly asked about your 'beauty regime'.

I'm confused: what, exactly, is a 'beauty regime'? I don't have one. Nor do I want to develop one. Although I have my suspicions that all this 'beauty regimening (is that even a word?) and makeup applying actually causes wrinkles.

Perhaps, just perhaps, I ought to test the theory that sleeping in makeup adds ten years to one's face.

Huh. Wonder if I'll look thirty then?

I have even been offered tutoring in how to 'maintain my youthful glow'. Huh? Do I somehow come across to you as someone who wants a 'youthful glow'? If I looked any younger, I'd get harassed for being truant from grade school. Really.

Is it too much to ask for, is it really much too hard, for the the fashion and 'beauty' industry to come up with clothing that helps a person look their age? I'm not fond of the teenager look. I'd like to trade it in for a wrinkle or six, kthx.

Brought to you by the Council for Age-Appropriate Gear, Serious Frustration Organization, and the By God, Stop Asking Me That! Council.
Click to expand...

Count your lucky genes.
 
corianderstem said:
Because modern western society has deemed it so!
Click to expand...


Hasn't it always been the case throughout history that youthful women were praised while older-looking women were not? Doesn't the rest of the world put youthful women on pedestals too?

I think its a male thing. For some reason, some men prefer younger looking women, and that puts pressure for most women to look as young as possible. We don't see men checking out women with gray hair, but for some women a man with gray hair and some wrinkles is sexy (ie, Sean Connery, George Clooney to name a few).
 
Devlin said:
Why is it so important for women to look eternally young?
Click to expand...

Because we've bought into the notion that the value of a woman is her desirability. And men trade in for younger versions all the time.

It's not just woman though, there are men who feel the same pressure to be youthful but more on the professional side.

Stacey and Clinton do a fabulous job on What Not to Wear of helping people taylor their style to age and career appropriate looks.

On the flipside, when I was a pre-teen I had the opposite problem. Developed very early and looked 4-5 years older. Unwanted attention from much older teenage boys along with a couple of very threatening situations have left their emotional scars with me.
 
I used to look young too. Got mistaken for being younger all the time. Then one morning I woke up and looked like crap.

Fortunately, that was after Jess had already married me. :D
 
I've never looked my age, so I'm told, though I think that is changing of recent.

So I understand when you're in your 20's this being an issue, I felt the same way. I finally started to appreciate it in my 30's.

As far as "why", I find it odd that most are saying it's only a women issue. I agree there does exist a double standard, but youth no matter what sex is admired and longed after...
 
I'm 30 and I get mistaken for 20 or so all the time. I used to hate looking younger than my age when I was in my late teens/early 20s, but as BVS said, you start to appreciate it as you get older. though its amazing how much differently people treat you when they realize you arent as young as they thought. Especially when they realize that you're actually older than they are. It can be a little frustrating at times, but definitely beats looking like a bag of shit at 30, thats for sure

Edit: I realize that doesnt answer your question in the slightes
 
Pearl said:
I think its a male thing. For some reason, some men prefer younger looking women, and that puts pressure for most women to look as young as possible. We don't see men checking out women with gray hair, but for some women a man with gray hair and some wrinkles is sexy (ie, Sean Connery, George Clooney to name a few).
Click to expand...

this. though please dont judge us for it. Its millions of years of evolution tugging at our choices
 
you know what, Im the age I am, and for the first time ever, well fuk it, since I turned 30, I think about age a lot!

In my 20s age never bothered me at all.

now, a lot of people have thought I was around 25 years old. I DONT see how they see that considering I have been stressed by an unstoppable disorder over last three years, and lost weight too.

but I feel far far FAR more restricted on things now, than a guy of my age.

like, a guy of 36/37 could still be bmxing with skill if he wanted, but a girl has to be settled down with kids that age. or a guy can look a bit 'rough and wrinkled' and still do fun things with skill but a girl/woman doing the same looks wrong.

so it is all about image.

and how its projected on to us that men only adore young looking girls. So Im at an age now where I feel its kinda over. and there is a website where pretty much most girls over 30 are seen as 'over the hill/old looking/not aging well'.


this world fuking sucks.

:scream:
 
I wish people would wonder if I was too old to be doing that. I got asked for id when I borrowed a lighter for a cigarette. Two weeks ago. Seriously?

Oh, yes, the settled sdown with kids speech. I get that so often I could about kill the next person who starts in on that. I'm starting to develop a twitch. People assume I'm a kid who will be looking forward to marrying and having kids. Uh, no, no I'm not. I plan to have my uterus removed as soon as I can find a doctor willing to do it. At 34, it's a pretty safe bet that there shall be no kids. I almost married once. And I'm so relieved that it didn't work out. I don't even touch babies more than once in a day if I can possibly help it. I'd much rather go bungee jumping. And I'm deathly afraid of heights.
 
Annecdote time:
One lovely spring night, I was walking down the street to go meet a friend. A young guy walked up beside me and said "Hey." I said "Hey." He proceeded to ask me where I was going, what was up, who I was going to see, etc. and more or less hit on me. He looked pretty young, so I brushed it off, but he kept following me. Finally, he asked "So what grade are you in?" :doh: I said "Umm, I'm not.." He said "I think you go to my school." :doh: :doh: I asked "How old are you?" He said "16." I said "I think I'm a bit too old for you." But he kept insisting that I went to his school. Fml.

Then there was just a couple of months ago at the airport. Early morning, not done up, dressed casually in jeans and a hoodie, hair up, I was standing in line at the Tim Hortons. There was a man standing behind me with his kids. I got to the front of the line and the person at the register said "Can I help you, sir?" The man behind me said, "Err, I think she's first." and pointed to me. So she said "Oh, can I help you?" I realized she thought I was with him.. and one of his kids. :doh: :doh: :doh: I just smiled and gave her my order. FML.

Being mistaken for someone much younger used to really aggravate me, and it can still be an annoyance, but the older I get, the more amusing I find it. I'm nearing 30, but seemingly not aging physically at all, so the reactions become more and more that of amazement when I tell people how old I am. :lol:
 
This seems like the place for this:
I just want to put in a word about all women and their hair.

I love long, natural hair. PLEASE don't chop off your hair and dye it when you get older. I adore women with some gray or white in the their hair.
And, if you are rocking a long grayish/white braid in your late-40s to 60s? :up: :heart:

This is one of the few agreements I have made with my wife. Keep your hair long and natural. (I'll even wash it for you occasionally.)

That's all. I hope that's not too creepy. :reject:
 
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