Growing Old...

[Selena_Kitt]

I saw this article today:

Plastic Surgery for your Hands

what do you think of our cultural view of aging? Are things getting out of hand? (ha, no pun intended.)

I think, perhaps even more than our fixation with "thin," when we look at the beautiful people in Hollywood etc, we are focused on not showing any signs of age...

what are we afraid of?

 

[Alessia Brio]

what are we afraid of?

Competition.

 

[TxRad]

I'm just glad i lived long enough to get old.....

I was voted most likely never to live to see twenty one in high school....

 

[Selena_Kitt]

I wonder if it's different for men than it is for women?

 

[Aurora Black]

It's worse for women, in my opinion. But now men are feeling the pressure to be perfect (i.e. strong & virile) at all times, too.

 

[Alessia Brio]

It's worse for women, in my opinion. But now men are feeling the pressure to be perfect (i.e. strong & virile) at all times, too.

We are a predominantly visually-stimulated society. That youth and "beauty" equate to sexual desirability is no surprise, given that both signal reproductive potential -- and we're wired to propogate the species.

The media and commercial interests simply capitalize on that. It sells.

 

[R. Richard]

I saw this article today:

Plastic Surgery for your Hands

what do you think of our cultural view of aging? Are things getting out of hand? (ha, no pun intended.)

I think, perhaps even more than our fixation with "thin," when we look at the beautiful people in Hollywood etc, we are focused on not showing any signs of age...

what are we afraid of?

I have talked with several men about the problems of getting older. The main problems that the guys I talked to cited were the "too" problems. When an older guy applies for a job, he is too tall/short, too experienced/inexperienced, too thin/fat, but he is never too old. If a guy is too old for a job, the feds step in and clock the company.

JMHO.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

what are we afraid of?

Competition.

Being ugly and unloved.

We're always shaking ourheads at the things people do to be loved and the impossible standards for beauty our culture sets, but in the end, I wonder if any of us are so above it all not to jump at the chance to be better looking, richer, or sexier.

It's easy to laugh at stuf like this when you're 23 and think you always will be, but when your 40's and 50's roll around, and your 60's, and you find out age hasn't brough that sense of peace and serenity you thought it would, you can get pretty desperate. It was good to see Mick Jagger still strutting at 60, but you can't tell me he hasn't gone under the knife. (And where'd he get those teeth??? From Mr. Ed?)

It's comforting to think that we'll always be loved for our inner beauty, but the fact is that's just not as true as we'd like it to be. Some of these things are silly, but I don't look down on cosmetic surgery anymore. I don't begrudge people anything they might try to do to help themselves find love.

As long as they don't end up looking like Joan Rivers, of course, who looks like her face is made of warm silly putty.

 

[rgraham666]

I saw this article today:

Plastic Surgery for your Hands

what do you think of our cultural view of aging? Are things getting out of hand? (ha, no pun intended.)

I think, perhaps even more than our fixation with "thin," when we look at the beautiful people in Hollywood etc, we are focused on not showing any signs of age...

what are we afraid of?

Death.

Growing old is a sign that the Grim Reaper is coming for you soon. And since far fewer of us really believe in an afterlife any more, staying young is way to keep the only truly democratic institution away from us.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

Growing old is a sign that the Grim Reaper is coming for you soon. And since far fewer of us really believe in an afterlife any more, staying young is way to keep the only truly democratic institution away from us.

then aren't we just kidding ourselves??

 

[rgraham666]

then aren't we just kidding ourselves??

Of course, but human beings like lies.

Good thing for us porn writers.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

Good thing for us porn writers.

LOL!!!

 

[OttoRank]

Sex and death, sex and death... everywhere there's sex and death.

While modern western culture has always had a fascination with the "youth and beauty image"... that fits so well well with the needs of the capital machine (read young producers, young consumers... everybody should be "young" as long as they can produce on the assembly line)....

... I've noticed how powerful the "baby boom" has maintained it's "hold" on playing a role in defining "beauty" as the cohort ages. Increasingly in commercials products are being discussed over dinner by childless couples who's dialogue implies the "rediscovered" sexuality of the newly "empty nest".

Actresses are holding "eroticised" roles in cinema in older ages of 40's and fifties. I have a feeling as "the boom" ages, we may see subtle reappreciation of the sensual qualities of the "distinguished gentleman" and the "woman of a certain age.

... then, there's always viagra

 

[oggbashan]

Old was OLD

When I see newsreels of the 1940s and 1950s, the way people dressed emphasised their age.

Any woman over 40 looked and dressed 'old'. Teenagers dressed like their parents until the late 1950s and even then still dressed that way for formal occasions.

Now, men and women look much younger than they used to do. Part of it is a function of generally increased wealth. In real terms clothes are much cheaper than they used to be. It is normal for people to have more clothes than they can wear in a week, and the clothes are easier to care for, more colourful and fit better. That improves the appearance of an older person.

When men wore the same suit for work every working day for a month, changed their shirt collars and cuffs daily but the shirt weekly, and women wore the same outfit with dress guards for several days - people looked older and duller.

Now anyone of any age, particularly men, can wear clothes that the generations who were adult in the 1940s and 1950s just couldn't wear. People are generally cleaner and better dressed. That makes us look younger.

Grey hair can be coloured. Bald heads? So what? Just shave off the rest and be trendy and 'hard'.

Life expectancy is longer and health is generally better so an active longer life is more usual than it was.

You are only as old as you feel (or as old as the partner you're feeling!).

Og

 

[SouthSkyEyes]

what do you think of our cultural view of aging?

I think the Stones say it well in the lyric, "what a drag it is to get old."

But for the popularlized, "pop-cultural," view on aging? I think, "I want to live forever," from Fame, sums it up, for all it's pathetic worth.

While many may dread getting "old," I think near everyone embraces aging over the alternative, huh? But even this is just too somber to talk about for most.

I could go on at length on this topic, aging, maturity, death, the cycle of life. But at the moment, speaking from my gut, just now getting back into the swing of simple things after scheduled bypass surgery a week ago ... yahoooooo!

Funny - of sorts - the days leading up to my surgery, my concern shifted off me and onto my wife. The surgeon gave me an estimated 98% success rate. Good odds for sure but my mind dwelled in that marginal 2%. If I were to not make it, this would be a loss for my wife and my daughters. The loss would not be mine really.

For me, this little dance with death, of sorts, has better connected me to the purpose and meaning of my life ... all if it. Who knows, really, what's around the corner ... next year, next month, tomorrow ... and hour from now?

The future ... bring it on. I'll look to appreciating each moment the best I can rather than fear getting old. And this means to continue making up for the sobriety of my youth.

Oh, Yes, I'm still sore, and my chest is no pretty picture, but this sure looks better than an obituary, huh?

Sky

PS: And Selena, my dear friend, how could I not offer you this bare-chest photo of me in jeans, huh?

 

[SEVERUSMAX]

I just refuse to let myself go. It's a matter of pride.

 

[oggbashan]

I just refuse to let myself go. It's a matter of pride.

There are some things that you can't change.

I need a spine transplant to repair the damage caused by contact sports in my youth. Now - I can't bend forwards, backwards or to the right and I'm permanently tilted to the left. Cosmetic surgery won't change that. My osteopath and physiotherapist can only delay the tilt and try to keep my limbs moving normally. My back is beyond repair.

I've tried correcting the tilt by filling my right hand with increasing quantities of Foster's. It doesn't correct the tilt. It adds inches to my waistline, but my perception changes so that I think I'm standing straight and tall (and I'm witty, handsome and young). Foster's Australian Lager does wonders for your perception. It works best if your associates are drinking it too.

Og

 

[zeb1094]

I think my AV says it all for me!

 

[Aurora Black]

I could go on at length on this topic, aging, maturity, death, the cycle of life. But at the moment, speaking from my gut, just now getting back into the swing of simple things after scheduled bypass surgery a week ago ... yahoooooo!

Funny - of sorts - the days leading up to my surgery, my concern shifted off me and onto my wife. The surgeon gave me an estimated 98% success rate. Good odds for sure but my mind dwelled in that marginal 2%. If I were to not make it, this would be a loss for my wife and my daughters. The loss would not be mine really.

For me, this little dance with death, of sorts, has better connected me to the purpose and meaning of my life ... all if it. Who knows, really, what's around the corner ... next year, next month, tomorrow ... and hour from now?

The future ... bring it on. I'll look to appreciating each moment the best I can rather than fear getting old. And this means to continue making up for the sobriety of my youth.

Oh, Yes, I'm still sore, and my chest is no pretty picture, but this sure looks better than an obituary, huh?

Sky

OUCH!!!

 

[Selena_Kitt]

For me, this little dance with death, of sorts, has better connected me to the purpose and meaning of my life ... all if it. Who knows, really, what's around the corner ... next year, next month, tomorrow ... and hour from now?

beautiful that you can find meaning in the midst...

I'm grateful beyond any words that you're here.

And Selena, my dear friend, how could I not offer you this bare-chest photo of me in jeans, huh?

and now you can show your "battle scars"...

 

[TxRad]

I'll be sixty before this year is out....

I'm not old, in my mind anyway... now the body is a whole other story.. Aches and pains in places i never realized i had... but you learn to live with them.... The snap crackle and pop as you get out of bed is a sure sign that you lived through another night...

Zeb's shirt says it all... but then there are the memories attached to some of the aches and pains that nothing can replace....

I'm older but I'll never get old......

 

[R. Richard]

I've tried correcting the tilt by filling my right hand with increasing quantities of Foster's. It doesn't correct the tilt. It adds inches to my waistline, but my perception changes so that I think I'm standing straight and tall (and I'm witty, handsome and young). Foster's Australian Lager does wonders for your perception. It works best if your associates are drinking it too.

Og

Aye! The beer goggles mate,

 

[matriarch]

I'll be sixty before this year is out....

I'm not old, in my mind anyway... now the body is a whole other story.. Aches and pains in places i never realized i had... but you learn to live with them.... The snap crackle and pop as you get out of bed is a sure sign that you lived through another night...

Zeb's shirt says it all... but then there are the memories attached to some of the aches and pains that nothing can replace....

I'm older but I'll never get old......

Ditto.
Well said, Tx. I'm with you. Older, body failing rapidly, but I'll never get old.

 

[Lord DragonsWing]

I'm with you Tex. The mind is still young, just alot smarter. The knee pains and lower pains I'm use to by now. But those come from sports. I'm just 46 and was told recently I'd look in my late 30's if I just used some dye on my beard and hair to get rid of the gray. I like the gray in the beard. It shows an intelligence I wish I would of had in my younger days.
So, let's pass the tylenol or ibuprofen and have a party.

 

[1337_G1RL]

Personally I believe that society has an unhealthy attitude towards ageing. We are all going to get older, that is an insecapable biological fact, and trying to make people feel uncomfortable about getting older is not the way to go about it.

Hell, I'm only 23, but I can tell you right now that the 'supermodel look' is not something to aspire to. Who wants to look like skin and bones anyway? I'm thin myself, but I'd never diet until there is little left of me, nor will I ever use my money wastefully on plastic surgery and anti-aging creams designed to delay the inevitable. Whatever happened to people growing older gracefully? I can totally understand somebody dying their hair to cover grey (and yes at the moment I dye mine because I just don't like my natural color), but spending thousands on a face life is a bit silly.

Are older people afraid that their looks are the ONLY thing that matters? Come on people, when did we get so superficial? What somebody lacks in looks they can make up on in personality, so please people, don't dismiss somebody because they are older/a bit overweight/whatever else.

1337