Turning 50: Redefining Growing old on Our Phrases

Rising up, one adage that I knew to be true was that you simply completely don’t ask a girl her age. It was all the time one thing to be coy about—the implication being that not solely was it intrusive to ask, however that it’s greatest to not put the girl within the uncomfortable scenario the place both she is may be judged … or would possibly lie. Age was all the time the elephant within the room however as Bob Dylan stated … 🎵 the instances they’re a’altering 🎶 .

Increasingly more ladies are getting comfy embracing and sharing their age with pleasure and I feel it’s due largely to the truth that ladies have begun to redefine what it means to age on our personal phrases. Whether or not it’s by skincare routines, well being regimens, or just the selection to flaunt our silver strands (or not), trendy ladies are transferring past outdated stereotypes and now have the liberty to outline our personal narratives. 

How Turning 50 Used to Look

After I was a younger woman, 50+ 12 months outdated ladies all the time appeared a particular manner. I’m positive you’ve seen the memes concerning the Golden Women, or keep in mind from the present, Dorothy, Rose and Blanche had been women in their 50s. On this formative time in my girlhood once I was watching the present (I used to be 10 when it got here out in 1985), they appeared like my grandmothers and had been lively like my grandmothers however the purpose it stands out a lot now could be that by at the moment’s lens they appear a lot older.

I’m turning 50 in a number of months, I can’t assist however take into consideration what it should have been like throughout that point, and feeling like that was the embodiment of being in your 50s. 

How Turning 50 Has Modified

Through the years, the portrayal of growing old has definitely modified. 10 years in the past The Today Show put collectively a slideshow of being in your 50s “then and now” that confirmed stark distinction, particularly among the many ladies. One notable superstar featured was Courteney Cox alongside Aunt Bee from The Andy Griffith present.

In an interview in 2013 in New You journal Cox herself spoke about growing old. The interviewer famous that there have been quite a lot of exhibits on the time the place the principle character was in her 40s or 50s (Cox was starring on the present Cougar Town) to which Cox attributed that to, “I really feel like nobody actually seems their age anymore.” Additional within the article, she talks about her worry of turning 50 and in addition her use of anti-aging merchandise together with injectables, which on the time was not typically brazenly mentioned, particularly amongst celebrities.

Quick ahead to at the moment—definitely there’ll all the time be individuals who really feel it’s nobody’s enterprise to know their age and so they would possibly even lie about it for worry it may jeopardize their careers, relationships, and so forth., but it surely’s turning into extra widespread that ladies are proudly saying their age and embracing it as a result of extra ladies are growing old on their very own phrases. There isn’t a longer one look that represents a particular age. 

Right this moment, celebrities will endorse and host infomercials speaking about anti-aging merchandise that give them “confidence in my physique and definitely my pores and skin” (Jane Seymore for Crepe Erase). They can even stand exterior the US Capitol shouting to a crowd, “I’m in menopause, OK?” and insisting that “the disgrace needs to be taken out of menopause. We have now to speak about this very regular a part of our life that occurs. Our docs can’t even say the phrase to us, not to mention stroll us by the journey,” (Halle Berry in May 2024). 

Right this moment’s lady has house to age as she desires to—injectables and menopause hormone remedies are spoken of collectively across the espresso store, not whispered quietly about in line for the Women Room. There’s nobody “proper” strategy to be 50—or any age, for that matter.

Personally, my 50 will embrace lotions and serums, hair colour (spoiler alert, I’m not naturally pink), inexperienced drinks, hopefully a number of extra marathons and conversations with my mates concerning the present state of my perimenopause journey. However I can confidently say that these merchandise and my wardrobe aren’t about some quest to be perceived as younger as a result of I’ll inform anybody who asks my age. After which once more, possibly sometime I’ll need attractive silver hair or to put on glasses on a regular basis, however I like that now it’s as much as me.

Your 50 will look completely totally different from mine—and the way cool is that?! Every of us has the chance to create our personal path ahead … and to personal it.

Hey, yeah … 50 is the brand new 50!

Share your personal experiences and insights about turning 50 and past. —Tam