Attempts To Look Younger: A Type 0f
Self-imposed Ageism[i]
I’ll
be 73 in October of this year. As I age I can’t help but notice that my body
does not have the same strength and “beauty” as in my teens, twenties, thirties
and forties. As they say “time marches on.”
Now
as I look at the back of my hands while typing this blog entry, I see that
there are quite a few wrinkle patterns on each hand. Also, I’m bald and have small amounts of light white hair.
When I look in the mirror I see an older person with bags under his eyes and a
growing white beard, which I really like. (Somebody told me I look like Santa
Claus.) It is also fun to make a
humorous statement the ends “…not by the hairs of my chinny-chin-chin.”
I
do not believe that posting the following material is a sign of moral
superiority. I can say to myself; “What would I do if I met a magician who with
a snap of his/her finger could allow me have the same health and strength I had
when I was younger. Forget about the wrinkles and bags under my eyes. If I could just get my body up
and running with the health I had when I played football as a university
student, I don’t doubt that I would like that no matter how I look. Below this is material provided by
Erdman Palmore that explores the nature of self-imposed ageism.
“She got
her good looks from her father—he’s a plastic surgeon—Groucho Marx”
“Attempts
to look younger appear to be an obsession among many older people. Billions of
dollars are spent on “anti-aging” skin creams and Botox and face-lifts and hair
dyes and wigs to try to look younger. These obsessions are clear signs that
these people are morbidly afraid of old age and it’s tell-tale stigma, because
they think old age is a dreadful thing whose appearance must be denied at all
costs.”
“There
is nothing wrong with exercise, good diets, and proper medications to maintain
health. But attempts to deny aging by changing one’s natural appearance is a
symptom of ageism.”
[i] This
book cited on earlier posts “…can help you grow bolder as you grow older. The
preface lists 45 advantages of aging to help you look forward to growing older.
The 101 answers are introduced with humorous quotations and answer the most
frequent questions about aging.
OLDER CAN BE BOLDER ISBN 9781466249271 by Erdman Palmore
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