Ageism is SO overrated. An article by Angharad Bishop

Growing up is just another one of life’s great mysteries. When we’re young, we look at the women in our lives in wonder, dreaming about what we’ll be like when we get to their age. One thing is for sure, we all want to grow up in style. But the rise in ‘Femageism’ in the past ten years has not gone unnoticed, and since the population of people over the age of 65 has increased by 1.5 million over the past 25 years in the UK alone; it’s time we did something about it. It seems the leading ladies of 2012 have done just that; with the likes of actress and novelist Julie Walters, multi-award winner Helen Mirren, and face of M&S Twiggy flying the flag for the older generation with pride.

But what about the countless others who are swept aside at the first sign of a wrinkle? Do truly beautiful women ever grow old?

We’re only ever young once. It’s inevitable; a wrinkle here, a sag there, a grey hair or five. We’re living in a world that is afraid of getting old and it’s disheartening to say the least. Advertisements shouting about the latest anti-wrinkle cream placed slap bang in the middle of articles that are ‘encouraging’ women to love themselves and their bodies, to embrace the natural lioness within. It’s true, women are scrutinised and judged on their appearance far more than men; those in the public eye being hit the hardest. The problem is, there are all too many fresh-faced youngsters willing to step up and fill the shoes of a disposable older woman. Switch on any presented television show, This Morning for example, and you’ll find the same ridiculous ideal of womanhood placed awkwardly next to an ageing man; young, fresh and almost transparent.

Once dubbed ‘the thinking man’s crumpet’ and now a hardworking Dame; Joan Bakewell has become the ultimate spokeswoman for ageism and sexism in Britain, taking the power suit to a whole new level. "I think the fact that women are phased out of the public eye when they become a certain age is a real disadvantage," she said. “The public should be represented on the screen in various colours, forms, sexualities, whatever.”

This comes as a response to the countless situations where an older woman has been pushed out of the picture as not to ruin the image of a particular public domain. Such as the case of Selina Scott; an established journalist, producer and presenter of BBC series, Animal Rescue. Selina successfully sued Five in 2008 for age discrimination, after Five’s claim that Selina was ‘too old’ to cover Natasha Kaplinsky’s maternity leave. Following a victorious win, Selina then went on to fill the role of newsreader on Chris Evans’ Breakfast Show.

It certainly can’t help a woman’s self esteem if they know that their career, and sometimes social life, has an expiry date. The growing number of women resorting to extreme plastic surgery to give them just a few more years has boomed in recent years. Breast implants, face-lifts, liposuction, you name it they’re getting it, powered by the mantra of ‘looking good for as long as you can.’ But where do you draw the line between looking good and pushing your body’s limit?

Growing up, maturing and growing older should not be seen as a hindrance, but as a gift. A natural, beautiful process in a woman’s life that brings with it experience, knowledge, wisdom, and the power to accept that life isn’t always perfect; neither are the people you meet. Fortunately, 2012 is a new era for the older woman, with various celebrities standing up for the cause. Joely Richardson, 47, former star of television series Nip/Tuck added that, "We can't afford to be down on our age. We have got to be proud of every single year. We all get to be young, we all get to be middle-aged and some of us get to be old." BBC have also embraced the power of the older woman by appointing Julia Somerville, aged 64, to present the BBC news programme. A refreshing change of face on national television, now all we need is more like her!

In order to progress, we as a society need to embrace the issue of ageing. To do so, we have to cut out all ageist vocabulary we may use without even realising; how many times have you referred to an elderly person as a ‘stupid old fart,’ or criticised a driver for being over the age of 50? Exactly. We may be moving in the right direction with BBC News, but one token older woman is not enough. We need more female role models; the rise of the power female is nigh.

In the end, it all comes down to the power of an image. A woman’s appearance, and what she does with it, should not be underestimated. We’ve all been taken in by advertisers’ empty promise of eternal youth, when the real beauty is looking at an older woman. Looking past the wrinkles but instead seeing what lies beneath, a loving source of wisdom and beauty, which with any luck, we will all grow up to be. Being just twenty-one years old, I don’t know what it’s like to have experienced these attitudes, but I do know that this is wrong. So let’s draw a line under prejudice and stereotype and make this an era of celebration of the older generation. Because after all, that’ll be us one day, and we’ll be just as glamorous as we are today.

As my grandmother always says, ‘You’ve got to have a twinkle in your wrinkle!’