Women Who Wouldn't Be Caught Dead Looking Old
Judy Howard Ellis
Contributor
Posted:
05/16/09
Apparently, it isn't ridiculous enough that a youth-worshiping culture signals to women that we must conceal our gray hair, stress-out about our weight, suffer botox injections and cringe when the cellulite jiggles.
We cannot look like ourselves, even when we die.
According to an Ohio study, obituary photos used in the Plain Dealer from the 60s to the 90s showed a tendency for the deceased to be pictured much younger than they actually were at death.
This was especially true of women. The study, "An Exploration of Ageism and Sexism in Obituary Photographs: 1967-1997," is co-authored by Keith A. Anderson and Jina Han of Ohio State University. Their work is published in Omega: The Journal of Death and Dying.
United Press International quoted Anderson as saying: "In 1967, about 17 percent of the obituary photographs surveyed in The Plain Dealer, a daily newspaper in Cleveland, were age-inappropriate -- the photos of the deceased were at least 15 years younger than when they died. However, by 1997, the number had increased to 36 percent."
And a description of the study on the Omega site adds this: "The findings from this study indicate that society's bias toward youthful appearance has persisted and grown over time, particularly in the case of older women."
That's painful to read. While every woman should decide for herself how she wants to appear -- dyed hair or not, botox or not -- it's a shame when the culture's sickly view of the cycle of life intrudes upon the end of life. What is this? Do the fashion police rule the earth?
Men are often more respected because of their age, while often the culture values women depending on the level of collagen in their skin. Women of a certain age are considered disposable. As Bette Midler told the New York Post's Pop Wrap: "The roles just aren't coming down the way they used to. But that's true for women in general, they're just not. I'm so old I can remember when women ruled the screen, and it's kind of terrible now."
Women also are mercilessly critiqued. For example, should First Lady Michelle Obama be subject to the directives of fashionistas and refuse to wear the same outfit twice? It seems like more creative energy could be expended on helping American women who may need a closet to put their clothes in because they just lost their house. And what can you say when people like the model Iman -- whom I have admired -- say things like this, as reported in Parade:
We cannot look like ourselves, even when we die.
According to an Ohio study, obituary photos used in the Plain Dealer from the 60s to the 90s showed a tendency for the deceased to be pictured much younger than they actually were at death.
This was especially true of women. The study, "An Exploration of Ageism and Sexism in Obituary Photographs: 1967-1997," is co-authored by Keith A. Anderson and Jina Han of Ohio State University. Their work is published in Omega: The Journal of Death and Dying.
United Press International quoted Anderson as saying: "In 1967, about 17 percent of the obituary photographs surveyed in The Plain Dealer, a daily newspaper in Cleveland, were age-inappropriate -- the photos of the deceased were at least 15 years younger than when they died. However, by 1997, the number had increased to 36 percent."
And a description of the study on the Omega site adds this: "The findings from this study indicate that society's bias toward youthful appearance has persisted and grown over time, particularly in the case of older women."
That's painful to read. While every woman should decide for herself how she wants to appear -- dyed hair or not, botox or not -- it's a shame when the culture's sickly view of the cycle of life intrudes upon the end of life. What is this? Do the fashion police rule the earth?
Men are often more respected because of their age, while often the culture values women depending on the level of collagen in their skin. Women of a certain age are considered disposable. As Bette Midler told the New York Post's Pop Wrap: "The roles just aren't coming down the way they used to. But that's true for women in general, they're just not. I'm so old I can remember when women ruled the screen, and it's kind of terrible now."
Women also are mercilessly critiqued. For example, should First Lady Michelle Obama be subject to the directives of fashionistas and refuse to wear the same outfit twice? It seems like more creative energy could be expended on helping American women who may need a closet to put their clothes in because they just lost their house. And what can you say when people like the model Iman -- whom I have admired -- say things like this, as reported in Parade:
"Mrs. Obama is not a great beauty... But she is so interesting looking and so bright. That will always take you farther. When you're a great beauty, it's always downhill for you. If you're someone like Mrs. Obama, you just get better with age."
Glam photos are fine and healthy living leads to healthy looks, but what made my grandmothers beautiful and my mother gorgeous now have nothing to do with a size 4 dress and lip gloss. Love, wisdom, personal honor, dignity, industry, forgiveness, endurance, graciousness, friendship, self-sacrifice, creativity, laughter -- these are the faces of loveliness. That kind of beauty is stunning at any age.