Turning 50: Redefining Getting 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 at all times one thing to be coy about—the implication being that not solely was it intrusive to ask, however that it’s finest to not put the girl within the uncomfortable state of affairs the place both she is could be judged … or may lie. Age was at all times the elephant within the room however as Bob Dylan stated … 🎵 the instances they’re a’altering 🎶 .

Increasingly more ladies are getting snug embracing and sharing their age with satisfaction and I believe 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 via skincare routines, well being regimens, or just the selection to flaunt our silver strands (or not), trendy ladies are shifting past outdated stereotypes and now have the liberty to outline our personal narratives. 

How Turning 50 Used to Look

Once I was a younger lady, 50+ 12 months previous ladies at all times regarded a selected method. I’m positive you’ve seen the memes concerning the Golden Ladies, or keep in mind from the present, Dorothy, Rose and Blanche had been women in their 50s. On this formative time in my girlhood after I was watching the present (I used to be 10 when it got here out in 1985), they regarded like my grandmothers and had been lively like my grandmothers however the motive it stands out a lot now could be that via as we speak’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 actually 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 celeb 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 plenty of exhibits on the time the place the primary 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 appears their age anymore.” Additional within the article, she talks about her worry of turning 50 and likewise her use of anti-aging merchandise together with injectables, which on the time was not usually overtly mentioned, particularly amongst celebrities.

Quick ahead to as we speak—actually there’ll at all times be individuals who really feel it’s nobody’s enterprise to know their age and so they may even lie about it for worry it may jeopardize their careers, relationships, and so forth., but it surely’s changing into extra widespread that girls 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 any longer one look that represents a selected age. 

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

As we speak’s lady has area to age as she needs to—injectables and menopause hormone therapies 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 shade (spoiler alert, I’m not naturally crimson), 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, perhaps sometime I’ll need beautiful silver hair or to put on glasses on a regular basis, however I really 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