One Day, Baby, We’ll be Old: Fashion’s Problem with Aging and its Effects on Mental Health
Photo by Maria Gil Mendoza
It has been nine months since I saw my grandparents in real life—for the two hours permitted by their elderly care facility and with all Covid-19 safety and distance measures. Sure, eight months is probably not that long for a rather unreliable granddaughter who lives between two countries, and especially not during a global pandemic. However, I do think that the pandemic has caused many people, including me, to alter their temporal realities regarding their older relatives and senior citizens. In hindsight, carefree and non-distant family visits have become a precious memory. Throughout the pandemic, the elderly have been put in a special spotlight because of their vulnerability to a deadly virus—and now, they belong to the first group of people who received or will receive the vaccine, depending on where they live. On a societal level, this shows significant recognition of age-specific needs and demands. With numerous voices claiming to take the pandemic as a chance to reflect on our previous social failures, what lesson have we learned about the lasting issue of age discrimination? Are we going to transport the appreciation and respect for senior citizens into one of the major pillars of cultural ageism—the fashion industry?
Ageism has been conceptualized as manifesting in at least three ways. That is, negative attitudes towards older people, old age, and the aging process; age-based discrimination or unfair treatment; and the implementation of practices and policies that amplify these negative stereotypes. [1] According to a report by the UK life insurance company SunLife, age-based discrimination is most palpable for adults over 50, with people reporting feeling neglected or invisible in society. Thereby, the top reasons listed were underrepresentation of age in magazines and brand advertisements, and disadvantages in the job market due to higher age. [2] Indeed, in its obsession with and promotion of youthfulness, the fashion industry amplifies these concerns and contributes to a negative bias towards age. When skimming through the pages of any high-end, glossy fashion magazine, one is usually presented with an army of young, thin, female-assigned bodies. In contrast, representation of older women is sparse and either masked or framed with age-hostile vocabulary and corresponding product advertisements such as “anti-aging” creams. [3] Similarly, the first Google search results I receive when searching for “fashionable senior women” is an article with the headline “The Ultimate Style Secrets of Ageless Women.” [4] Ageless, anti-aging—the message is clear: age is to be considered undesirable, if not antagonized. Youth, on the other hand, has become the ultimate target of aspiration—as Lars Svendsen put it: “a permanent state rather than (…) a transitional phase.” [5] Thereby, the youthful, skinny body that is high fashion’s immortal muse is shamelessly equated with beauty. It is no wonder, then, that younger people believe they will become less attractive as they age, and older people feel pressured to stay looking “youthful.” [6]
Certainly, there are also examples of women who have become famous because of their age, or their celebration of it. Iris Apfel, Baddie Winkle, or Linda Rodin, just to name a few, are important style icons regularly featured in fashion magazines and widely admired for their eccentric appearance. But their fame also bears on their singularity, charisma and wealth which obviously doesn’t (and couldn’t!) apply to everyone. Furthermore, the number of older people represented in the media can in no way be compared to that of younger ones. [7] Hence, it almost seems like from a certain age, one has to decide between becoming invisible or hypervisible in order to be acknowledged. For many women, this results in unending beauty interventions and a constant rejection of their natural aging process, as expressed by one participant of an in-depth interview study on beauty work and ageism: “We won’t love women if they’re not lovely. Our society says that from the beginning. And for women who are older, we’re invisible anyway. If you’re considered ugly and old, ageism is awful and it’s so prevalent” [8].
“Experiencing ageism is not only painful, but also poses a serious threat to the wellbeing of older adults by predicting negative mental health outcomes such as depression, anxiety and stress.”
Experiencing ageism is not only painful, but also poses a serious threat to the wellbeing of older adults by predicting negative mental health outcomes such as depression, anxiety and stress. [9] Aside from feeling neglected by the media and society, individuals internalize ageism as they get older. According to Yale professor Becca R. Levy’s stereotype embodiment theory, age stereotypes are internalized from early childhood on and maintained throughout people’s lives, ultimately becoming self-relevant and affecting psychological, behavioral, and physiological pathways. [10] In one of Levy’s studies, participants who were primed with negative, age-associated words such as “senile,” “dependent,” or “incompetent” later showed worse performance in a memory task compared to a positively primed group, irrespective of participants’ own age, gender, or level of education. [11] Furthermore, the internalization of ageist stereotypes may even influence one’s will to live by discouraging individuals to seek medical assistance due to a fear of being perceived as sick. [12] Hence, it seems like it is the embodiment of age stereotypes that causes those stereotypes to become true, instead of a natural development of human nature. [13]
Being just 26 years old, one might wonder why I chose to write about age-based discrimination. It wasn’t until my last birthday that age became something I thought about. Entering the latter half of my 20s during a global pandemic was odd, because I realized I was still getting older, despite the world around me just being put on hold until further notice. Turning 26 felt significant but silent, because I wasn’t able to celebrate it in a way that I assumed would have been ‘suitable’ for this age, especially while living in Berlin. Instead of going to a weekend-long rave with my friends and thousands of other people, I gifted myself a box of skincare products including, I admit, serums that were advertised as “reducing visible signs of aging.” I felt like it was an appropriate, adult gift given the circumstances. Skincare as selfcare. I created a little ritual for my mornings and evenings to have at least something of a routine throughout the day. Perhaps it was also an attempt to deal with this new, hard-to-pin-down examination of age.
In fact, I am quite a latecomer, as some dermatologists suggest that anti-aging skincare routines should already start at the age of 24. [14] The anti-aging skincare market is indeed a booming industry and expected to grow to a worth of $421.4 Billion by 2030. [15] Anti-aging products are increasingly consumed by young people between 18-24, some of them being described as “Skinvestors” because of their stark, expert-like obsession with anti-aging techniques. [16]
Adolescents as young as 14 or 16 carry concerns about premature aging, and the beauty industry responds by offering ever more products that promise eternal youth. The objective seems clear; the earlier one starts to impede any visible signs of age, the longer one stays young. However, the only effect that anti-aging products have is that one’s visible aging process becomes slightly delayed—not that it stops us from becoming, in fact, older. Aging is not optional and by stigmatizing it, we only create our own future marginalization, since the ageist aversion will ultimately target us once we hit a certain age, as the anti-ageist activist Ashton Applewhite notes. [17]
Collage by the author
I do wonder, however, if fashion’s obsession with youth is not also one of its conditions. The current state of fashion is ultimately based on desiring the new—when something grows outdated, it indeed becomes old-fashioned. Consuming new clothes is oftentimes linked with a reinvention of ourselves. Conversely, a dearly loved garment worn many times can suddenly not feel right anymore. Indeed, fashion is very much linked to our sense of time because it carries archival aesthetic information through which we can determine and explore our past selves and previous generations. [18] For the German philosopher and sociologist Roman Meinhold, fashion is a means through which human beings position themselves in the present, because they are interested in the transcendence of life and aware of its finality. [19] The latest fashions are proof of cultural currency of the present time—we can observe time fading through changes in fashion. Through fashion consumption, we can assure our participation in the present and thereby improve ourselves, because new fashions symbolize freshness, power, and youth. However, these symbols remain symbols, or mythologic meta-goods that only pretend to give us what we are seeking for—to delay death and foster eternal youth.
These neophilic aspects of fashion, the love of the new, stand parallel to gerontophobic behavior articulated in ageism—the rejection of the old. Thereby, fashion mirrors our Western society’s taboos about suffering, passing, and death. By creating a dichotomy between life (as the positive) and death (the negative), we create a fruitful ground for a lavish contact with clothing, as we may be attempting to extend our lifespan by an artificial reinvention of ourselves through clothes. A new dress for a newer, more actual me. Through the logic of ageism, the natural process of aging—of people, of clothes, of styles—becomes negatively attributed and creates a dispute between the generations: For the older population, it results in discrimination and exclusion, for the younger, it causes fear and aversion against their future, older selves by internalizing the ageist stereotypes and possibly applying them to our own bodies. Fashion, as it currently operates, reinforces these attitudes and exploits our vulnerability by promising eternal youth and beauty through the consumption of clothing and cosmetics.
“Am I really taking care of myself if I am using a product that claims to be “anti” the natural aging process of my body?”
Why is it so painful to get older? Does it have to be? Certainly, I need to ponder these questions, as I must the questions about a sustainable future. These questions, to me, are inherently linked because they seek to establish and maintain a fair and livable present and future for all human beings. While sustainability claims often revolve around establishing a future worth living for the current youth, we ought to reconsider our attitudes towards aging and how we can ensure a dignified life for the present and future older populations. On a personal note, this includes questioning the reasons behind my newly established ‘self-care’ routine—am I really taking care of myself if I am using a product that claims to be “anti” the natural aging process of my body? Or is this not rather a form of aggression targeted at my present and future selves? Self-care can come in various forms, including letting go of internalized repulsions, beliefs, and fashion myths that threaten to influence my and other people’s mental health.
Notes
1. R.N. Butler, "Age-Ism: Another Form Of Bigotry," The Gerontologist 9, pt.1 (1969): 243-246.
2. "Retiring Ageism," SunLife, 2020. https://www.sunlife.co.uk/siteassets/documents/sunlife-ageism-report-2020.pdf.
3. Denise C. Lewis et al, "Awakening To The Desires Of Older Women: Deconstructing Ageism Within Fashion Magazines," Journal Of Aging Studies 25, no. 2 (2011): 101-109.
4. Jaclyn Palermo, "The Ultimate Style Secrets Of Ageless Women," Harper's Bazaar, July 16, 2020, https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/trends/g5504/stylish-older-women/.
5. Lars Svendsen, Fashion: A Philosophy (London: Reaktion Books, 2016).
6. Eugène Loos et al, "Visual Ageism In The Media," International Perspectives On Aging (2018): 163-176.
7. "That Age Old Question: How Attitudes To Ageing Affect Our Health And Wellbeing," Royal Society for Public Health, 2018. https://www.rsph.org.uk/static/uploaded/a01e3aa7-9356-40bc-99c81b14dd904a41.pdf.
8. Laura Hurd Clarke et al, "Visible And Invisible Ageing: Beauty Work As A Response To Ageism" Ageing And Society 28, no. 5 (2008): 653-674.
9. Rylee A. Dionigi, "Stereotypes Of Aging: Their Effects On The Health Of Older Adults," Journal Of Geriatrics (2015): 1-9.
10. Becca Levy, "Stereotype Embodiment," Current Directions In Psychological Science 18, no. 6 (2009): 332-336.
11. Becca Levy, "Improving Memory In Old Age Through Implicit Self-Stereotyping," Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology 71, no. 6 (1996): 1092-1107.
12. Becca Levy et al, "To Be Or Not To Be: The Effects Of Aging Stereotypes On The Will To Live," OMEGA - Journal Of Death And Dying 40, no. 3 (2000): 409-420.
13. C. Auman et al, "Effect Of Health-Related Stereotypes On Physiological Responses Of Hypertensive Middle-Aged And Older Men," The Journals Of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences And Social Sciences 60, no. 1 (2005): P3-P10.
14. “At What Age Should You Begin With Anti-Ageing Skincare Routine?" NDTV.Com, April 10, 2019, https://www.ndtv.com/health/at-what-age-should-you-begin-with-anti-ageing-skincare-routine-2020755#:~:text=Dermatologist%20Dr%20Kiran%20Lohia%20Sethi,your%20anti%2Dageing%20skincare%20routine.
15. "Anti-Aging Market Revenue Worth $421.4 Billion By 2030: P&S Intelligence". Prnewswire.com, March 15, 2021, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/anti-aging-market-revenue-worth-421-4-billion-by-2030-ps-intelligence-301247104.html.
16. Leah Dolan, "Teens Are Worried About Wrinkles. Here's How Gen Z Is Helping To Fuel A Beauty Boom", CNN, May 6, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/style/article/anti-aging-trend-teens/index.html.
17. Ashton Applewhite, This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism (New York: Celadon Books, 2019).
18. Elizabeth Wilson, "Fashion & Memory". Vestoj 1 (2014), http://vestoj.com/fashion-and-memory/.
19. Roman Meinhold et al, Fashion Myths: A Cultural Critique, trans. John Irons, (Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag, 2013), http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1xxspz.
