November is my favourite month. It鈥檚 sunny and warm, the jacarandas are flowering and it鈥檚 birthday time.
I鈥檓 not one of those girls who downplays their birthday. In a couple of weeks I hit 32, and while I once would鈥檝e thought that was ancient, I now know 30+ year-olds still ride BMXs, dance to dub step and make new friends.
Sure, I rarely pull an all-nighter these days and I even listen to AM radio in the morning (love ya, Fran), but getting old is totes worth celebrating.
It worries me how much women stress about aging. I too am guilty of it. If a grey hair rears its head I vainly yank out before anyone notices. I don鈥檛 want to look older than I feel.
Every year Mum would ask for some scientific-sounding face cream for her birthday when dad would be happy with a new polo shirt. She鈥檇 then tell me to moisturise so I didn鈥檛 end up with crow鈥檚 feet like my father. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e smile lines鈥�, I鈥檇 say. 鈥淒ad鈥檚 just happy.鈥� But knowing how cruel society can be, mum was probably doing me a favour.
Fairytales might come true if you鈥檙e young at heart 鈥� but looking young helps a whole lot too. That鈥檚 what pop culture has us girls believing.
When you turn on the telly you see stacks more old blokes than women, and sadly, many of the 50+ aged chicks on screen have sacrificed their facial expressions for a 鈥測outhful鈥� appearance. The occasional man has too, but you get the feeling Sam Newman鈥檚 bizarrely stretched face is more about vanity than social pressure.
While older men are 鈥渟ilver foxes鈥�, older women should move on and 鈥済ive some of the younger girls an opportunity鈥�. This shit needs to change.
I was stoked when 43-year-old Cate Blanchett graced the cover of Intelligent Life mag earlier this year in all her unPhotoshopped beauty. Cate couldn鈥檛 look bad if she tried, but it was cool to see her looking naturally luminous for a change.
If this was the case for all glossy mags, maybe young girls would stop Photoshopping out their character lines before uploading a new Facebook profile pic.
Let鈥檚 be honest about our age and our looks and celebrate the learning that comes with getting on a bit. If that means a face full of smile lines, I couldn鈥檛 be happier.
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