AGEISM AND AN AGEING ME

A while back, well it seems like ages ago, I wrote a couple of posts about Comments on My Appearance, and How Old is Too Old? At the same time I wrote about how I feel the world has become so ageist and youth culture seems supreme. Various popular media outlets regularly bombard our already increasingly self-centered, youth-obsessed culture with negative messages about aging and the aged. As a woman closer, and closer to fifty I question my worth as a woman. As an 'older woman'.

I went back to edit it, but then I read the below quote from Annie Lennox, and I think her words cover it exactly how I wanted.

"There's this youth culture that is really, really powerful and really, really strong, but what it does is it really discards people once they reach a certain age. I actually think that people are so powerful and interesting - women, especially - when they reach my age. We've got so much to say, but popular culture is so reductive that we just talk about whether we've got wrinkles, or whether we've put on weight or lost weight, or whether we've changed our hair style. I just find that so shallow."–Annie Lennox, who turned 60 in late December 2014

For 2015 can we not just empower other women instead of knocking them down? 


Note: Image not mine, obtained via Google Images. Trying to track original source. 

COMMENTS ON MY APPEARANCE

So, I work in retail. I smile allot. I talk allot...probably too much. But, does this give open invitation to comments about me? About my appearance? Granted most of the comments are lovely and flattering, but then there are a small percentage that are just rude.

If I take the nice. does this mean I have to accept the rude?

On Sunday I changed my hair colour, I thought it was a subtle change, yet it has bought a massive amount of attention.

From the nice. A little girl approached me, and asked what colour my hair was, when I asked her what colour she thought it was she said "princess hair". An elderly lady told me my hair made me look "glowing and happy" and hugged me. Plus, I have had heaps of general comments of people just saying they like my hair.

A few have asked if it takes for ages to do my hair.

To a lady who said yesterday "I like your hair colour, but don't you think you are too old? How am I meant to answer that? Yes lady I think I am too old for this hair colour that is why I did it.

Another lady asked why I was wearing a wig.

Another said, in front of me loudly, to her friend "when someone gets as old as her and does that to her hair it is just desperate attention seeking, she is obviously either gay or single". Lady being either gay or single is not a bad option in this world, and what has that got to do with the colour of my hair?

So tell me, do you think it is okay to comment on strangers appearance?  Especially to their face?