Essay 1700 words
Andrew 1
Veronica Andrew
Rhetoric 110
Professor Andrew
20 April 2020
The Lady Vanishes: Women, Media, and Aging
Introduction. “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may/Old time is still a-flying;/and this
same flower that smiles today/Tomorrow will be dying,” wrote 17th Century English poet
Robert Herrick. The message in the poem is clear: young women should marry while they can,
because love becomes unlikely when age begins to show. Though this verse was uttered
hundreds of years ago, its message is still alive and well and has evolved into a steadfast
principle of Western capitalism and culture—youth is beauty—and this sentiment is present
wherever women are visible. Fashion and entertainment magazines demonstrate to us that it is
much easier for a female model to find work when she is in her teens and twenties than when
her age begins to show. Seasoned, accomplished actresses frequently tell stories of roles and
job offers disappearing as they age into their late 30s and 40s. And evidence of these prejudices
seeping into social practices and preferences; one often hears the phrase “silver fox” used to
describe an available, single older man, while their female counterparts are categorized as
“spinster” and “cat lady.” In fact, age tends to diminish women’s perceived attractiveness to
nearly nothing. In a study of online dating app behaviors, University of Michigan researchers
determined that women “peak” (receive the most messages) at 18 and decline every age year
afterward, while men peak at 50 (Salaam). As a consequence, the American capitalism-driven
media sends mixed messages to older women about their cultural positioning. On one hand, it
warns these women to cling to their youth with familiar terms like “age-defying,” “wrinkle
Andrew 2
cream,” and “chemical peel”; on the other, it praises their accumulated wisdom and intelligence
and envies the freedom possible outside the spotlight. Older women’s responses to these
messages are mixed, both expected and instructive. Thesis: While both health and beauty
media sites stigmatize the changes of aging, and a credible medical source uses that stigma to
argue for healthy habits, literary, high-culture sources celebrate the gained wisdom and
empowerment that women experience as they grow older.
Media analysis 1. Health-oriented web publications that discuss women’s responses to
aging describe both physical and mental decline, sometimes associated with lifestyle. For
instance, the popular Women’s Health Magazine, in its most recent age-related article, urges
women to prevent physical signs of aging by following the example of a popular actress: “5
Things Julianne Moore Does to Make 59 Look Like 39.” Throughout the selection, Moore
describes various lifestyle practices that she believes have helped her look 20 years younger,
including following a meticulous skin care routine, adhering to a particular diet, and avoiding
the sun completely. She relates, “I put the sunscreen on, and I don't go into the sun. And
honestly, that's really it…I can’t even take the light because of my eyes. I do it to my husband
all the time where he’ll be like, ‘I’m cold’ but then I’m like, ‘Let’s walk in the shade.’” She
also avoids eating at outdoor restaurant tables: “I hate it… You’re baking in the sun.” (qtd. in
Spruch-Feiner). Women’s Health makes it clear that one must choose between extraordinary
measures, including a religious avoidance of sun, and the intolerable prospect of looking one’s
age. The use of actress Julianne Moore as an expert suggests to the reader that, despite the word
“health” in its title, this magazine does not offer actual health advice, but instead capitalizes on
women’s vanity and our culture’s obsession with celebrity in order to sell magazines wherein
celebrities provide safeguards against unattractiveness. In addition, publications that are even
Andrew 3
more specifically medically-oriented also reinforce the supposed decline of women’s health—in
both physical and emotional aspects. Medical information website Contemporary Ob/Gyn, in
its article “Older Women Are Consuming More Alcohol,” observes an increase in heavy alcohol
consumption in women who are 45-64 years old, and hypothesize as to the causes: “While the
authors note that the reasons for the increase in high-risk drinking are not completely
understood, they suggest that the increase could be related to stress from work, stress from
retirement, financial pressures, empty nest, or challenges associated with menopause”
(Schwartz). Again, an inability to cope with age-related transitions is emphasized. This
publication characterizes aging women as heavy drinkers, self-medicating because of the
presumed struggles of midlife--economic hardship, leaving the workforce, and departed
children—without documentation of the true causes. Both these health publications paint a dim
view of aging women, who hide from the sun and drink, regretting their circumstances.
Media analysis 2. Beauty-themed media sources stigmatize signs of aging and
encourage women to do what is necessary to look as young as they can. In an article describing
a staff writer’s coming to terms with aging, international style magazine Vogue offers
reassurance: “In this day and age, looking fresh and vital is not just a matter of vanity but also
professional survival. Luckily, a proliferation of next-generation noninvasive cosmetic
procedures—futuristic lasers, nimble fillers, and resurfacing treatments—offer… subtle
refreshment without the scalpel. The concept is highly appealing to cosmetic surgery virgins
like writer Jancee Dunn, who… wrestles with turning 50….” (Ellenberg). Vogue states plainly
that looking younger is vital to professional success, implying that “noninvasive” skin
treatments to delay visible aging are necessary for any woman, regardless of her
accomplishments. Equally well-known beauty publication Harper’s Bazaar presents a similar
Andrew 4
argument in a narrative entitled “Waking Up Middle Aged,” written by a woman who re-
evaluates her appearance after a law school reunion: “My 44-year-old face requires at least
some eye makeup and a hint of concealer, and I won't ever — ever — go gray. Borrowing from
my teenage daughter's closet, while not entirely out of the question, demands restraint….
Dressing my age…no longer demands a wardrobe of knits and cashmere sweater sets, but
neither should it mean faded jeans every day. And it most certainly means I have to change after
yoga, however cute I think I look in my boot-cut hip-hugger stretch pants” (Waldman). In this
case, Bazaar shows that a woman’s struggle to come to terms with aging is resolved with
makeup and hair dye. However, she should not transgress by wearing a young woman’s
wardrobe—apparently, with her clothing, she must “act her age.” In these publications, aging
women are taught that they must look younger in order to succeed socially and professionally,
even if their credentials include high-profile fashion journalist or successful attorney.
Media analysis 3. While health and beauty websites grapple with supposed hardships of
aging, literary publications present older women as autonomous and rebellious, taking
advantage of marginalization and abandoning conventions. These sources argue that aging is
not a tragedy but a time of liberation, a moment of shrugging off conventions applied to women
throughout their younger lives. The Atlantic article “The Invisibility of Older Women”
discusses the potential power of women who find themselves aging into the margins. Author
Akiko Busch describes a familiar reality: “The invisible woman might be the actor no longer
offered roles after her 40th birthday, the 50-year-old woman who can’t land a job interview, or
the widow who finds her dinner invitations declining with the absence of her husband” (Busch).
However, she posits, this invisibility can be a moment of transformation, and she quotes
psychologist Alison Carper: “As humans, we all need to be recognized…but as we grow older,
Andrew 5
the manner of recognition we search for can change. A subject is someone who experiences her
own agency, who is aware of how she can and does have an impact on others and how she is,
ultimately, the author of her own life. She is aware of the responsibility this carries” (qtd in
Busch). The Atlantic confronts what beauty publications encourage women to deny: as a
woman ages, she fades from the public gaze. However, the article frames this invisibility as an
opportunity to do what she wants to do, empowering herself and redefining her relatinoships.
While the beauty and health publications define the loss of youth as a detriment, more literary,
high-culture publications envision growing older as an adventurous time of discovery.
Credible Source. An examination of a credible medical source reveals a perspective
similar to popular health and beauty magazines: the aging process in women is a time of
decline, and something to be fought. Mayo Clinic, a world-renowned American health
organization, frames the aging process as a loss of fitness, albeit more scientifically than the
popular health and beauty magazines. Their 2019 website article “Menopause Weight Gain:
Stop the Middle-Age Spread,” provides a comprehensive list of factors that contribute age-
related weight gain, complications that can accompany it, and ways to prevent it. The clinic
warns women against the additional pounds or “spread” that can be a part of aging, as they
increase risks for breathing problems, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers (Mayo
Clinic Staff). The discussion of prevention emphasizes lifestyle causes: “Hormonal changes
alone don't necessarily cause menopause weight gain. Instead, the weight gain is usually related
to aging, as well as lifestyle and genetic factors…. Lack of exercise, unhealthy eating and not
enough sleep, might contribute to menopause weight gain” (Mayo Clinic Staff). The article also
provides a long list of lifestyle change recommendations—eating a plant-based diet, limiting
sugar and alcohol, and exercise—and concludes with, “Remember, successful weight loss at
Andrew 6
any stage of life requires permanent changes in diet and exercise habits. Commit to lifestyle
changes and enjoy a healthier you,” (Mayo Clinic Staff). In this case, women are encouraged
to adopt healthy lifestyle habits, but instead of providing medical reasons for them, the Mayo
Clinic focuses on the stigma attached to weight gain in order to be persuasive. Though the
advice is certainly sound, and the health outcomes would undoubtedly be beneficial, the focus
on attractiveness reinforces the notion that beauty is the most important priority for women.
Synthesis. A synthesis of the media messages and a credible medical source
demonstrates a correlation between popular media sources and medical source’s pessimistic
view of aging, and a conflict with the literary magazine’s positive portrayal of empowerment.
Though articulated more scientifically, and with reliable medical advice, the Mayo Clinic
assumes that most women will want to avoid the appearance of aging and its beauty-standard
oriented signs. In this way, it reflects the health-oriented popular magazines, which describe
aging as an unfortunate process that causes decline in both the body and the mind, but can be
controlled with lifestyle changes. It also reflects the beauty magazines, which categorize women
by ages and emphasize the need to avoid physical signs of growing older—although it stops
short of recommending plastic surgery or other drastic measures. The literary source is alone in
its vision of aging as a time of increased power and freedom; in fact, it is the only source that
has anything positive to say about women aging at all. The implication of this synthesis seems
to be that priority of beauty, as the most important factor in femininity, so saturates American
thinking that even credible sources cannot avoid trading with it. A culture that considers
women nothing more than measures of traditional attractiveness makes it difficult for any
sources of information, even reliable, well-intentioned ones to escape its grasp. However, high-
culture magazines like the Atlantic may have more influence in the future. Such magazines tend
Andrew 7
to be thought of as progressive and important, and their re-considering of women aging as a
time of transformation will undoubtedly start discussion. A popular voice that invites women to
step away from rigid beauty standards gives the public a new way to perceive women as they
grow older.
Though intellectually oriented media sources have begun to feature the positive aspects
of growing older, media sources that emphasize beauty and health present a very one-sided
view of women’s attractiveness. The reason is not difficult to guess: appearance-based websites
and magazines are meant to create feelings of inadequacy in order to sell beauty products and
cosmetics, an industry that generates millions of dollars every year. And these considerable
profits are not the only consequences. The CDC reports that women between age 40 and 59
have the highest rates of depression in any gender and age-based group in the U.S. (qtd. in
Gholipour). Though there may be many factors, it is difficult to imagine that the media’s
relentlessly judgmental voices do not contribute to this problem. However, the media can also
be useful in this way. It also publishes such phenomena as growing number of girls with eating
disorders, the emerging problem of plastic surgery addiction, and other indicators of the harmful
internalization of idealized beauty. Perhaps, if the spotlight shifts enough to include these
issues, and continues to highlight the value in women’s unique experiences and voices, the
damaging messages will begin to recede into the shadows.
Andrew 8
Works Cited
Busch, Akiko. “The Invisibility of Older Women.” Atlantic Magazine. 27 Feb 2019. Web.
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/02/akiko-busch-mrs-dalloway-
shows-aging-has-benefits/583480 Accessed 6 Apr. 2020.
Ellenberg, Celia. “Here’s What Happened When One Woman Got 15 Cosmetic Procedures in
12 Months”. Vogue. 20 Dec. 2017. https://www.vogue.com/ article/anti-aging-
cosmetic-procedures-jancee-dunn-filler-botox-lasers. Accessed 6 Apr. 2020.
Mayo Clinic Staff. “Menopause Weight Gain: Stop the Middle Age Spread.” Mayo Clinic. 31
July 2019. Web. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/womens-health/in-
depth/menopause-weight-gain/art-20046058
Salaam, Maya. “For Online Daters, Women Peak at 18 While Men Peak at 50, Study Finds.
Oy.” New York Times. 15 August 2018. Web. https://www.nytimes.com/
2018/08/15/style/dating-apps-online-men-women-age.html. Accessed 6 Apr. 2020.
Spruch-Feiner, Sara. “5 Things Julianne Moore Does to Make 59 Look Like 39.” Women’s
Health Magazine. 9 Feb 2020. Web. https://www.womenshealthmag.com/beauty
/a30794473/julianne-moore-skincare-routine/. Accessed 6 Apr. 2020.
Schwarz, Ben. “Older Women Are Consuming More Alcohol.” Contemporary Ob/Gyn. 10
Oct. 2019. Web. https://www.contemporaryobgyn.net/ article/older-women-are-
consuming-more-alcohol. Accessed 6 Apr. 2020.
Waldman, Ayelet. “Waking Up Middle Aged.” Harpers Bazaar. 15 Oct. 2009.
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a437/look-younger-middle-age-1109/.
Accessed 6 Apr. 2020.