Longevity – the dream of staying young forever. The tangible chance to turn back time. Young forever. Sounds wonderful. Brings great things with it. But not necessarily for everyone. Because staying young and forever young look is a striking difference!
Men measure their heart rate variability, their VO2Max, while women count their wrinkles. Men celebrate their gray hair while women desperately cover theirs. Men brag about top blood counts while women apologize for their crow’s feet. Welcome to the bizarre world of longevity, where the rules are arbitrary and “equality” is just a nice thought
Biohacking bros against victims of beauty ideals
Have you ever noticed how differently men and women deal with ageing? For men, ageing has become a technical challenge – a system that needs to be hacked, optimized and improved. They swallow nutritional supplements, measure their sleep cycles with military precision and turn their bodies into a scientific experiment. They keep charts of their testosterone levels and use apps to count their steps. For the modern man, longevity is a challenge that can be met with cool gadgets, determination and curiosity.
Women, on the other hand, are fighting a completely different battle. While men proudly proclaim that their biological age is “technically 12 years younger than their chronological age”, women desperately try to look 20 years younger than they actually are. The difference? One is celebrated as a scientific achievement, the other as a social requirement. Or why does a well-known Munich “longevity expert” happen to be a plastic surgeon? What does one have to do with the other? In my personal opinion, nothing.
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Longevity trap: “60 is the new 40”
Remember when “40 is the new 30” was all the rage? Then it became “50 is the new 40” and now we’re at “60 is the new 40”. Thank you very much! At this rate, by 2050 we’ll be telling 90-year-olds that they should look like teenagers.
Behind this seemingly positive mantra lies a sinister truth: women do not celebrate getting older, they deny it for as long as possible. And the burden of this denial weighs heavily. When we say “60 is the new 40”, what we really mean is “you should look 40 or better 30 at 60”. For men, this may mean staying active and looking after their health. For women, it means erasing two decades of life experience from their face.
The double standards are blatant. George Clooney is described as “distinguished” for his natural ageing, while Pamela Anderson is considered insanely “brave” when she appears on the red carpet without make-up. What she dares to do.
Filtered reality
Social media has exacerbated this problem. Filters that smooth skin, remove wrinkles and make lips look fuller have created a whole new standard of beauty that doesn’t even exist in nature. Young women are having cosmetic procedures to look like their filtered selves. Older women now feel like they have somehow failed because they look their age. When there are so many great ways to look young. Right, Mrs. Geiss. 8 hours of surgery and the face is back in place.
The minefield of the menopause
Okay, deep breath: let’s talk about the menopause – or rather, let’s talk about not talking about the menopause. While men celebrate their “optimization journey” well into their 70s, menopausal women are treated as if they’ve reached their expiration date.
Weight gain during the menopause? This is not a natural hormonal change – this is personal failure! Hot flushes? That doesn’t have to be the case. Get bioidentical hormones as soon as possible. Mood swings? Decreasing libido? That’s probably because you haven’t heard the longevity shot. You can do something about that! Growing old is a choice these days. So, do something!
The longevity movement, with all its possibilities for extending healthy life expectancy, has remarkably little to say about this global pressure of expectation on women. But, if for the first time in human history we have such fabulous opportunities to counteract old age and turn back our biological clock, then we also have to deal with ethical questions. Firstly, what do we do with all the funny 120-year-olds? Putting them in old people’s homes would probably be counterproductive. Secondly, who will finance this? Certainly not the pension system. Thirdly, where does the meaning of life come from that will keep us going for decades?
And above all: please let us carefully separate healthy, vital and energetic ageing from the brutal youth mania that forces women into the Bermuda triangle of fillers, facelifts and liposuction – or makes them disappear from the scene altogether.
The anti-ageing industry – not to be confused with longevity
The global anti-ageing market is expected to reach 88.3 billion dollars by 2026. Think about that figure for a moment. That’s billions of dollars spent mainly by women trying not to look as old as they are. We’re not talking about the toxins in these anti-aging cosmetics here.
Men spend their money on performance enhancement – supplements that promise a better workout, a clearer head and a stronger body. Women spend their money on improving their appearance – collagen that promises tighter skin, procedures for fuller lips and breasts that defy gravity, procedures (and ordeals) that take 20 years off your face – or all grace. It depends on the surgeon!
One celebrates what the body can achieve in old age, the other is ashamed of how her body looks. One is ambitious, the other desperate. One looks forward with confidence, the other looks back on her best years.
Freeing yourself from the youth trap
Perhaps there is a glimmer of hope. Studies show that many women develop a healthier relationship with their appearance as they get older. They become more accepting of themselves and less concerned with conforming to societal ideals of beauty. Basically, they stop playing a game that they have realized is rigged. Evil tongues say, what choice do they have?
What if the true promise of longevity wasn’t to live longer and look younger, but to live longer and care less about looking younger?
What if Longevity also became a movement for us women to celebrate getting older instead of desperately trying to hide it? That’s basically the whole point of it.
For women to truly benefit fully from the longevity movement, we need to separate health from appearance. We need to realize that wanting to live longer and healthier doesn’t mean looking 35 forever. And we need to understand that J.Lo and her ilk are just damn well lit – after 6 hours of being trimmed young by their glam squad.
Longevity for women means finding out what really matters. Strength, energy, joy, passion and the power to achieve everything we want. At any age. At every stage of life. Female Forever!
Otherwise, we women will be the externally controlled losers in the longevity game. And so-called longevity doctors will continue to snip away at our faces.
Image source: istockphoto.com |
- Bandage on woman’s face | credits @ Robert Daly
- Dynamic trio of women pose confidently in the modern office | credits @ Jana Murr
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