How do older women cope with the pressure to conform to current beauty standards?
LH: Well, that’s a complex question. Some women feel very dissatisfied about their bodies and their appearances. These women may choose to seek out surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures in order to maintain a more youthful appearance. They argue that failure to use youth-enhancing products such as hair dye, make-up, or non-surgical and surgical procedures put them at risk of being invisible in a youth and appearance-obsessed society. At the same time, they want their enhanced appearances to be viewed as the result of graceful aging and good genes. In contrast, some women resist current beauty standards in which attractiveness is equated with young thin bodies rather than voluptuousness. These women suggest an alternative beauty ideal that is reminiscent of Marilyn Munroe, who was a curvy size 14. Similarly, some women argue their wrinkles are badges of honour and signs of lives well-lived rather than something to be fought against and remedied with products like Botox and injec
