“How very dare she?” - Yes, I’m a 50+ swimwear model & I’m fighting back!
It’s come to my attention in the recent weeks that some women, so called “celebrities” if we can call them that for the sake of clarity, are age-shaming women in their fifties. Women have been told to hang up their bikinis once they have passed an age deemed appropriate for said celebrities, they have been told to act “appropriately” - whatever that even means any more? More on that later.
Appearing on ITV’s This Morning show recently, with Gok Wan as we showcased how glamorous we can ALL look in swimwear, I certainly didn’t feel as if I needed to hide or look “appropriate”.
In fact host Craig Doyle commented that I “had the touch of the James Bond” about me as I modelled a stunning belted swimsuit from Phase Eight.
Although I have to say I haven’t been the victim of age-shaming myself at this time, I fully expect it to happen at some point as I have no intention of stopping acting however I like and certainly not anything that could be considered “age-appropriate”, but it is happening and we are hearing about it in mainstream media. Which also means its happening out there in everyday life, to everyday people, every day. Causing pain, causing insecurity, self-doubt and more. Make no mistake, if I see it I WILL be calling this behaviour out and I’m asking you to do the same.
Not just because it most likely will hurt the recipient’s feelings but because of the deep and lasting damage it’s continuing to do to our society.
I’m writing this at a time when I’ve when I’ve been struggling - peri-menopause symptoms and my neurological condition are combining to make it hard to track cohesive pattern together and I find myself an unwilling player in the '“remember the word that’s on the tip of your tongue” game more often than I care to say.
I’ve had to fight off imposter syndrome even to write this blog as yes, I definitely think there will be others who will be able to write more eloquently, with better, more meaningful words, or in a way that might have more impact, but…
But.
I know what I know, I know how I feel. And if I feel it then I’m sure as hell that I’m not the only one..
We of the older generation, do not have a sell-by date, we do not become surplus to requirements when we stop being able to reproduce - as if that’s a woman’s sole function. We are not worth less because our bodies change, or our skin wrinkles.
And ok, yes I am going to say it - we do not need throwing out if our brains struggle to function due to neurological changes brought on by hormones. Or anything else for that matter but I stray from the main point of this post so I’ll keep within the lines.
Women are worthy - always - but most definitely as we age. We have a richness, a texture, a depth that only comes from a life lived, experiences had, adversities grown though and risks taken.
Maybe one day, if those silly people (I want to say girls but then aren’t I really just insulting all the intelligent young women out there, so people it is) if they are lucky to live long enough to grow into mature women, they might realise the error in their words and see that the silver generation is, in fact, where it all gets exciting..