Age. A blessing to some and a curse to others. As a child and teenager, age is excitement, it is feeling respect, it is independence. Yet, as an adult, age is a limitation; it is an unwelcome guest, and it is ugly, and if you are a woman, it is amplified. The unspoken curriculum for women: look as young as possible for as long as possible. Look young, but not too young. Feel young, but do not forget your age. Act young but raise a family, have a job, and keep the house looking nice. A double standard and a double-edged sword. But what about age is so trivial? Why are people, and women especially, afraid to get older?

Many people would agree it is the fault of pop culture that age has a bad reputation. In media today, we are fed gorgeous-looking actors and seemingly perfect musicians. They look youthful, their skin is always clear and glowy, and their bodies always seem to look in their prime, but we all know deep down that is not possible or realistic. Yet, time and time again, as a society, we fall for the gimmick; we judge and compare ourselves to them, and we feel insignificant when we fall short of their standards. Yet, despite knowing the caliber is impossible, we continue to attempt to attain this unattainable level. We seek out expensive diets, enroll in all the exercise classes, and invest in the creams and gels marketed with anti-aging properties. We fall for it again and again.

The facts match this narrative, and fears of aging lie in the numbers. In 2020 alone, plastic surgery statistics show that in the U.S., women make up 92% of the total cosmetic plastic surgery makeup, with 12.4 million surgeries and procedures done on women alone. What is more telling is that a majority of these procedures are botox. Botox is made of small doses of the bacteria botulinum, which are cosmetically used to reduce and temporarily eliminate wrinkles. Typically advertised as a way to look younger, it is no wonder people, especially women, are seeking this procedure more frequently. But there is some hope in this anti-aging epidemic; funnily enough, it is also found within pop culture. More regularly, we see people pushing the hostile rhetoric around age in media. Most recently is in the film “Barbie”, which gracefully and authentically highlighted the fear of age and not meeting expectations in a way that felt personal. Highlighting just how beautiful age is, the film, targeted to women, exposed the most tremendous and deepest fear of losing oneself through age in a way never addressed before. In the wake of the film and social media, there truly has been growing support and acceptance of age and highlighting the beautiful aging people in our society. “Barbie” transcends the screen, and leading up to and right after its release, the amount of age-positive and praising content pushed out was inspiring. People grew increasingly appreciative of the ability to age naturally, and that narrative continues to help develop aging positive outlooks. Showing that age is simply a number and not a limit sets a whole generation of women and people up for a life without fear and full of joy.

Age is and should be regarded as a privilege. People are lucky if they get to live to be old enough to see wrinkles and grey hair. It is an honor to have smile lines as evidence of living a joyful life. So many people will never get the opportunity to grow old, experience fulfilling happiness, or live to see those they love grow old. While there are no issues with wanting to look younger or getting cosmetic procedures done, doing it purely in vain feels like an injustice to the soul. Imagining fairly chalking up one's existence, story, and life to the appearance of aesthetics is unthinkable. Living in fear of age is not living at all.

Written by Leah Lara, Photography: Mary Le, Social Media: Manuela Diez

The Aging Epidemic