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I guess, no matter what, it all comes down to preying on women's insecurity.
The Ever-Changing Business of ‘Anti-Aging’
By Amanda Hess
Corporate interests have discovered that they can make a killing by selling coping mechanisms...
They’ve also swapped out the scientific jargon, instead pitching “natural” ingredients with global back stories...
I guess, no matter what, it all comes down to preying on women's insecurity.
I agree completely.
But if I had a dollar for everywoman who said either:
-- I just wear make up for me
-- I don't dress or wear make up for anyone but me....
...I could have retired by now.
The amounts of money -- the billions of dollars that women will spend on skin care -- anti-aging being just one part of that -- is crazy. HUNDREDS of dollars on a skin cream! Incredible.
OK, I’m having trouble with the comments in these two posts. Women have been programmed practically from birth by the force of cultural expectations to try to be beautiful. Being beautiful by our culture’s standards means to be young, or young looking. Being seen as looking younger than one’s age is understood to be an accomplishment, or perhaps a happy result of good genes.
So, I do wonder where all this insecurity of women could possibly be comimg from?
As an example, I see no older woman at all in TV advertising except for meds or incontinence products. I do see impossibly young woman representing mom’s of teens or similar, however.
I think it is highly unfair to target the insecurities of women here.
And, I also want to point out how our culture looks down on women who “let themselves go.”
It is a fact that women who take good care of their skin, look better in general. There are always some people who look for miraculous remedies. But there are men who seek hair replacement, remedies for their deficient manhood, dye, shoe lifts, etc. I hardly think women are alone in this sort of thing.
To me, this seems like another case of blaming the victim. Women sense their lessening value in the eyes of the culture at large, and they hope to mitigate this loss. Men can feel this sense as well, and while some will resort to remedies, some men turn to misogyny.
I think that all of us labor under the demand of unrealistic expectations. But targeting women just seems unfair to me.
OK, I’m having trouble with the comments in these two posts. Women have been programmed practically from birth by the force of cultural expectations to try to be beautiful. Being beautiful by our culture’s standards means to be young, or young looking. Being seen as looking younger than one’s age is understood to be an accomplishment, or perhaps a happy result of good genes.
So, I do wonder where all this insecurity of women could possibly be comimg from?
As an example, I see no older woman at all in TV advertising except for meds or incontinence products. I do see impossibly young woman representing mom’s of teens or similar, however.
I think it is highly unfair to target the insecurities of women here.
And, I also want to point out how our culture looks down on women who “let themselves go.”
It is a fact that women who take good care of their skin, look better in general. There are always some people who look for miraculous remedies. But there are men who seek hair replacement, remedies for their deficient manhood, dye, shoe lifts, etc. I hardly think women are alone in this sort of thing.
To me, this seems like another case of blaming the victim. Women sense their lessening value in the eyes of the culture at large, and they hope to mitigate this loss. Men can feel this sense as well, and while some will resort to remedies, some men turn to misogyny.
I think that all of us labor under the demand of unrealistic expectations. But targeting women just seems unfair to me.
Women say this all the time, yet act as if it's so unnatural and ignores the reality of humans. For hundreds of thousands of years when mankind was struggling to survive of course young beautiful women would be the most sought after due to being able to bear children, as a result no **** young beautiful women would be viewed as highly prized. Don't blame men, blame mother nature.
... of course young beautiful women would be the most sought after due to being able to bear children, as a result no **** young beautiful women would be viewed as highly prized.
I guess you haven't noticed that ugly women can (and do) have children, and have... every day, for centuries.
So ... what does that say about "the reality of humans"?
Women say this all the time, yet act as if it's so unnatural and ignores the reality of humans. For hundreds of thousands of years when mankind was struggling to survive of course young beautiful women would be the most sought after due to being able to bear children, as a result no **** young beautiful women would be viewed as highly prized. Don't blame men, blame mother nature.
I do not blame individual men. I like men!
I do blame our culture which by and large has been controlled by men for millennia. For modern examples of the male gaze, which dominates so much of popular culture, pay attention to where caneras linger in scenes involving men and women. Or look for movies or commercials where older women appear, or never appear.
It is very hard for older women to find aging role models in our culture. Thank goodness for the few we have, and for those who seem to be coming forward now.
For exampes of how aging women are pictured, just look at how Sen. Claire McCaskill is almost always shown in pictures. She is almost always shown in a way to reinforce a shrewish stereotype.
The reality women talk about is a constructed reality. Just because many men like to look at pretty young girls, does not mean that other women have no value in our culture, and that they should be demeaned, ignored, or assigned humiliation.
But if I had a dollar for everywoman who said either:
-- I just wear make up for me
-- I don't dress or wear make up for anyone but me....
...I could have retired by now.
The amounts of money -- the billions of dollars that women will spend on skin care -- anti-aging being just one part of that -- is crazy. HUNDREDS of dollars on a skin cream! Incredible.
and its so easy.. sad too.. but with promises and per centage of women who have seen changes in their skin these things fly off the shelves no matter the price.....I use Doublebase. its cheap and does the trick, it mousturisers my skin without harsh chemicals and is very cheap.. My mother had a friend in her late 30s back then. but she had that papery sort of skin that was dried out early in her life and she used every good cream she could get her hands on, it never made a bit of difference.. My skin is healthier at 71 than hers looked in her thirties, its luck and a bit of care..
OK, I’m having trouble with the comments in these two posts. Women have been programmed practically from birth by the force of cultural expectations to try to be beautiful. Being beautiful by our culture’s standards means to be young, or young looking. Being seen as looking younger than one’s age is understood to be an accomplishment, or perhaps a happy result of good genes.
So, I do wonder where all this insecurity of women could possibly be comimg from?
As an example, I see no older woman at all in TV advertising except for meds or incontinence products. I do see impossibly young woman representing mom’s of teens or similar, however.
I think it is highly unfair to target the insecurities of women here.
And, I also want to point out how our culture looks down on women who “let themselves go.”
It is a fact that women who take good care of their skin, look better in general. There are always some people who look for miraculous remedies. But there are men who seek hair replacement, remedies for their deficient manhood, dye, shoe lifts, etc. I hardly think women are alone in this sort of thing.
To me, this seems like another case of blaming the victim. Women sense their lessening value in the eyes of the culture at large, and they hope to mitigate this loss. Men can feel this sense as well, and while some will resort to remedies, some men turn to misogyny.
I think that all of us labor under the demand of unrealistic expectations. But targeting women just seems unfair to me.
As I've said, there are three sexes: male, female, and old female.
Cracks me up that Olay has young women in their 20s advertising wrinkle cream.
Soap, water, sunscreen.
Repeat.
Then there's the Gold Bond ad: Years in the sun causing dark spots?....as the gal, after a look of consternation, slathers the product on her 21-year-old skin.
When's the last time you saw an elderly woman (or man, for that matter) using a shower product? I guess they don't brush their teeth, either. What's that? They don't have any teeth? Then I guess they're advertising Polident. Nope. Thirty-year-olds are doing that. Hell, the elderly aren't even advertising Depends.
If not for Life Alert, the elderly would be all but absent in commercials.
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