It is these contradictory thoughts and ideas which make it so difficult for us women to truly appreciate the beauty of ageing and fight against the damaging, and blatantly pointless, double standards. However, it is crucial that we stand against such unfair standards, and take the trials and tribulations of ageing in our stride.
In the past few years, we have seen a rise in female empowerment and the appreciation of ageing, which has been a breath of fresh air compared to some of the more traditional outlooks on growing older. Online, there has been an array of bids to appreciate the beauty of ageing, with slideshows acting as an ode to ageing appearing all over platforms such as TikTok.
Ageing has been seen to have much less of an effect on men's careers and desirability than on women's.
We have also seen companies such as Dove taking on a liberating approach to advertising; featuring women of all ages. Dove has remained at the forefront of the breakdown of beauty standards within the health and beauty industry, and these campaigns have helped to make important progress against the double standard of ageing.
Across multiple industries, ageing has been seen to have much less of an effect on men's careers and desirability than on women's. For example, actors such as George Clooney have been heralded as a ‘silver fox’; retaining his status as a desirable celebrity, and even letting his more aged appearance take centre stage. However, this is far rarer within female celebrities, as the youngest and most ‘baby-faced’ figures always seem to gain heavy attraction.
Nonetheless, changes are being made, 57-year-old Pamela Anderson has ditched the makeup altogether. To see such a liberating transgression against beauty norms is great, especially from a figure who was so surrounded by the exact kind of pressures that create double standards around ageing.
There is a market dedicated to stopping ageing before it even begins.
Whilst there has been progress, contradictions around ageing are still entirely embedded in our society. Despite the seemingly empowering stance from Dove, they still carry a range of anti-ageing products which claim to “maintain your skin’s natural youthfulness”. Although this is an improvement from certain products which claim to rewind the clock on ageing, this range still conforms to the belief that growing old is something to fear and that youth should be clung on to for as long as possible.
With those products primarily being targeted at those who are already in the process of ageing, there is also a market dedicated to stopping it before it even begins - denying women the privilege of truly appreciating the beauty of growing old. Like many current societal debates, TikTok is once again seen as the biggest culprit in manifesting harmful beauty standards into action.
The deep-rooted double standards in the beauty industry still inevitably trickle down through society.
Online, children and young teens are seen applying an excessive amount of skincare; there are videos upon videos of ‘sleep routines’ with intricate masks, taping, and other frankly daunting-looking contraptions, just to avoid the natural course ageing takes on the skin. Therefore, despite attempts to promote the beauty of ageing, the deep-rooted double standards in the beauty industry still inevitably trickle down through society.
With such double standards pervading both the internet and day-to-day conversation, how are women meant to truly appreciate the beauty of ageing? Perhaps the key to appreciating the process of growing old, having our faces reflect the laughs, thoughts, and experiences we have had, is to reject the beliefs of others; particularly those online and in advertising. We only have our bodies once, and we should take the time to appreciate all they do for us - and when ageing becomes part of this, that, too, should be appreciated for all its beauty.
