Discrimination of Women over 40

If you are a woman, you have been overtly conditioned by our culture that your worth has a short shelf life with an expiration date tied to your age.

Forty and over? Your desirability and overall value are in steep decline according to social media, advertisers, and marketers trying to sell you their latest and greatest anti-aging products. If you are a 40+ female public figure, complimentary statements are accompanied by critically condescending commentary like “She looks good for her age.”

What happens is a cascading effect of self-condemnation. It is easy to become afflicted with a proclivity for self-criticism whereby every little sign of aging is evidence of your perceived unworthiness. You begin looking in the mirror with a critical eye scanning your image for signs of ‘old age’. Grey hair, lines, wrinkles, sagging skin? If you look hard enough you will find the evidence you are searching for that aligns with societal messaging.

You begin ascribing all physical changes to the ‘ravages’ of age, regardless of reality.

Do you need eyeglasses? It must be old age.

Suddenly get tired? It must be old age.

Suddenly have a back, hip, or knee problem? It must be old age.