Marginalization of Older Women

I wish I knew how to send you a video file I downloaded called "I Don't Look Good Naked Anymore".

Arlene

CarolT, are you my long lost clone?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6m_Fq6dsIo&feature=related

Don't know if this is the one that you saw........but never the less I thought it was cute. There are bunch more on youtube

Darn there goes the days of getting sexually harrassed, NOT!I remember when it just got to a point where I was hoping to get really ugly so creeps would leave me alone. YES I have bought "wrinkle cream". If I want to feel pretty, I bubble bath with some thing from crabtree & evelyn.If I buy something from Victoria Secret, it's coming home in an anything but screamin pink bag and will probably be very comfortable to wear.I guess I see beauty in people with integrity, intelligence, humor,creativity.I had a very handsome lover once who was 2 yrs younger than me ,but he was such an a*******le that I kept wishing aliens would come suck out his personality and leave me the empty shell.NOW I am much more interested in what someone is made of than how they look.

:-)

Somewhat of a newbie here, cruising various posts and this one caught my attention. I do see women (and men) proclaiming to look younger or act younger than their age, and often wonder what that means.

It's great that people take care of themselves and the way they look. Our generation is going to live longer than the previous generation, and we have developed interests that we should continue pursuing well into what would be considered senior years. I want to continue hiking, SCUBA diving and skiing well into my seventies and eighties, and now is the time to get prepared for it.

On the other hand if by "I act young for my age", or "I tend to date people who are younger", the person means "I will pretend not to have a brain, life experience, or anything else of value, or even a basic understanding that older does not need to limit me", then it's a majoy turnoff. I like to maintain myself so I can enjoy my activities, but I do not do it so I can go after the younger crowd. Who needs it when one can have a partner with brains, life experience, humor, and a willingness to live life to its fullest.

Largely, the problem lies with our cultural fascination with celebrity... Our sadly immature culture which we adopt instead of defining. Woman have long been the targets of the advertising industry. Before we started allowing Madison Avenue to define us, and comparing ourselves to airbrushed images, older people were fountains of wisdom--unless they were out-and-out crabs--and laugh lines were seen as beautiful. We must embrace and encourage a critical analysis of the media and their standards because they are frauds. However, just because the public relations industry can create false "flaws" does not mean they are harmless. False flaws demand "new and improved product" but we can see right through that scam if we want to. Women and girls are their traditional targets, and boys and men are taking it on the chin, now, as well. We have to recognize our own prejudices as well. Did/do we appreciate the beats, hippies, punks, goths, etc. for defining themselves? Or do we prefer the perfect disguise of the suit and ties? Are we willing to admit that the most vulgar and dangerous creeps can suit up and go unnoticed while we continue to judge on-sight? Just a few thoughts...