Women…Stand up and unite! The face of beauty is changing and the trend is slowly moving towards allowing ourselves to be real again. We are beginning to establish a new yardstick by which to measure our looks and how we portray ourselves, in the world, and in the media.
Pia Gronning-I want to look like her as I grow up!
As we baby boomers move through life we bring with us money (read buying power), our self absorption about our looks, and our refusal to age like our parents. And, as we watch our over processed peers on todays reality TV shows, we are finally starting to refuse to succumb to past standards of beauty; Waif like figures, with too much botox and a continual fight to look under 40 when we are not.
This trend is emerging from two fronts. The first, by iconic women who are standing up and refusing to let the media dictate what we should look like. Take for example 43 year old Ashley Judd’s recent slap at the media for their brutal comments and false statements about her use of cosmetic procedures and the state of her marriage due to a small weight gain.
THANK YOU MS. JUDD!-Quote and image via Move On.org
And, Madison Ave. is following the money and beginning to show beautiful women over 40! Take the famous Mac cosmetic company’s bold move to use Ms. Iris Apfel (age 90) as their face for a line of fabulously colored lipsticks and eye color that she made her own personal statement decades ago.
THE DIVINE Ms. Iris Apfel-image courtesy of Gypsy Village via Architectural Digest
And Dove, a company that is using real women, of all ages and shapes, to advertise their product! Other women advertising products at an older age are Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton and Ellen DeGeneres.
Magazine cover girls are now such inspirations as Meryl Streep, the oldest woman to date to appear on the cover of Vogue. And models, well models aren’t all under 30…or 40 anymore. Think of Cindy Joseph (54 and grey, thank you very much), 83 year old Daphne Selfe, Maye Musk at 53, and 63 year old Pia Gronning to name a few.
Meryl Streep on the cover of Vogue-image via Bricks and Stones Gossip
And yes, full figured women from Adele on the cover of Vogue, to models like Christina Mendez are also coming to the fore rapidly!
Christine Mendez-image via Entertainment ezine
Last week on Facebook I ran across Patti Friday’s thoughtful blog post on this trend to becoming more of ourselves naturally. She included the video below from the Today’s show on this very topic. It’s a bit longer then most video’s I post, but I think it’s worth the watch. Check it out below. And check out Part 2 of the New Face of Beauty too!
It seems a bit silly to me that we women haven’t stood up for this before, don’t you think? Come on women…let’s spread a little bit of authentic beauty in the world by being content with ourselves as we are!
Where does real beauty really come from? I invite you to have this conversation with your mothers, your sisters, your friends, your daughters and nieces. What do you think?
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31 Comments
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Extremely well written, thanks for tying together several interesting and relevant pieces. Also noted the point in the video that companies are jumping on this “natural aging” bandwagon to “follow the money”. Love Ashley Judd’s statement.
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Thanks Jeannie. It’s such an important topic to have with all the women in our lives, especially the younger ones that can really affect their inner voice and see themselves as beautiful no matter what!
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You speak truth! Some of us had Barbie to live up to, but the young women and girls today have … the entire electronic and print media. Ashley’s statement that we are being minimized and muted rings so true, and should compel a tidal wave of support. How, though?
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Many women are saying this Jeannie. I’m thinking about it and it may be another blog post in a week or so! Stay tuned
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I was born standin’ up and talkin’ back, and at age 65 I am a Freshman in college, because I wrote about my life and won a scholarship. I have always been myself.
I have been working like a Trojan to get the message out there regarding verbal abuse (so little recognized nor understood) and have been writing to talk shows, media, newspapers, magazines, ec for over 10 years; I recently did YouTube video (where I put on makeup to look beaten up); the newspaper did a story on me showing that photo; kind of shocking to see.
After 31 years of abuse I got a divorce and then had to fight my church; but I did that for 18 months; at the end of the debacle; I was once again able to make something positive come from the ashes: http://www.churchabusepoetrytherapy.com….over 20,000 hits now.
The endorsements for my book humble me: Elie Wiesel, Wayne Dyer, Nikki Giovanni, Drs. Alice Miller, Larry Dossey (14 in all)
1 in 3 women on our planet are living in silence, fear and shame behind closed doors; that is over 52 million in the U.S. alone.
“When you shame me, you blame me, and keep me silent.” I will never stop speaking up….it all began when I joined the (army) Women’s Army Corps as a teenager right out of high school.
I think perhaps I should do a blog. am also the moderator of an abused survivors’ group. Alice
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You go Alice, and yes, I do think you could write a blog. We need to spread empowerment messages far and wide in what ever form we can. You obviously write well…Go for it! thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment. It’s all a long overdue conversation, don’t you think?
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Irene, May I say you continue to impress me on so many levels.. keep up the good work. Inner beauty, inner strength does show when we are being authentic. This type of empowerment lifts us all up, not just our age group, but those who look to us for role modeling, and that is where we need to be. The social media, via you, and other great women I have met on FB are changing the scapes.. and ..long overdue!
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Thank you so much for your kind words Ann…and yes, I do firmly believe that it is all of our responsibility to role model a more enlightened approach to what is good and right about beauty! I’m glad you are one of those people.
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The more I age (in numbers), the more calm and peaceful I feel about my place in the world. Thank you so much for discussing this topic. I truly hope society, the media and Hollywood catches up.
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Patti, and thank you for spurring me on with your great post. The more of us who talk about it, the more of us will help to make a difference in the lives of future women and ourselves. Then the media and Hollywood must follow!
So happy to have met you here in our virtual world. Your visuals are inspiring!
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i’m seeing the site only now and really loved it! i love your post is so cool!
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You go, girl!!!
Love this post and miss you!!!
Am turning the corner and soon to be 60!!!xoxo P.
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And you Ms. Pat, are the epitome of the New Face of Beauty!!!! Happy Early B-day to you.
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i love your blog, don’t find many that are so clear, it is nice to see that someone really understands. i really enjoyed reading this. thanks for the post.http://www.realsaude.net
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Wonderful blog article. I am a private cosmetic treatment and surgery coach. I think it is important to have safe choices in the world of cosmetic surgery and treatments.
It is a very personal choice. I believe less is more.The media and hollywood is trending a more natural look these days. However, don’t think that even those natural aging beauties are not getting a little Botox or fillers to augment their aging faces. Or than Iris Aprfel never had her eyes lifted or a facelift. It would be naive to believe this. Not everyone who has a Facelift, Botox or fillers looks overdone. And many aging actors will not admit to having “work” done.
I think with aging comes a sense of beauty, accepting and being comfortable in our own skin. This is reflected both from the inside out as well as from the outside in. If we choose to get a little help from modern medicine to rejuvenate our looks, it really is OK.
And I think Pia Gronning is fabulous!!
http://www.niptuckcoach.com
http://www.beautirx.com-
Michele, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. I do feel that if a woman wants a bit of help to augment their beauty as they age, that is their choice. I’m not sure that I think that Hollywood, the media and the fashion industry are trending towards the natural look as much as they should be by this time. Yes, there are pockets of natural looks and people stepping up and out about aging naturally, but the message is still predominantly “youth, skinny, and enhanced”. I think that the more we have these conversations and the more that these three platforms support this conversation the more women will begin to alter their internal conversation and the healthier and happier we will be with ourselves. After all, it is our conversation with ourself that has to change first! And, the media can help by showing those who are aging gracefully, naturally or with a bit of help!
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