Selected Columns
Kaleidoscope of the Heart: There's nothing wrong when a woman looks her age
Come spring, many women's magazines refresh their look and come up with new concepts. It's normally fun looking at the posters for the latest issues hung inside trains, but this year the atmosphere is somewhat stifling.
"Real cuteness comes at age 35!" one poster declares. "You can be younger in your 40s!" another proclaims. It seems to me like each generation is battling for youth and cuteness, with one side saying, "I'm still cute too, you know," and the other claiming, "No, I'm the cuter one." And it seems that the magazines are seeking the same from readers.
I have even seen one magazine tell women in their 50s: "You, too, are the active women."
Magazine ads like this may be only natural, but no matter how you view them, the models look like young women in their 20s. In actual fact, however, I've heard that some of these models are women in their late 30s and their 40s -- even their late 40s. Photo processing technology may have improved a lot, but it's still depressing to think about the huge disparity between those models' appearance and my looks at the same age.
What do women in society think? When they see women who appear unthinkably young for their age, and the magazines tell them, "You can be younger and cuter," do they think, "Alright, me too," and become charged with enthusiasm and cheerfulness? More likely, they're like me and end up feeling weary and empty, thinking, "So saying that I'm too old for that is no longer an excuse?"
This year I am happy to reach the age of 50. I have somehow managed to reach this milestone while continuing to work, and now I want to live in a way in which I don't think too much about things that are troublesome -- eating what I want to and wearing loose clothing. I want the phrase "congratulations on living for half a century" to signal a treat for me, and I want to give myself an easygoing and relaxed lifestyle.
In spite of this, when I try to relax, the magazines caution me, telling me, "No, not yet." And no matter how much I think, "I'm not going to worry about that," I start feeling pressure when I look at the models on the magazine covers, thinking, "That person is from my generation? She looks my daughter's age."
There are more than a few women who come to my practice comparing themselves with abnormal youth or abnormal ambition, saying "That's ordinary. I'm no good."
I wonder what the best way is to get across the message: "That's not right. We're the normal ones." (By Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)
Click here for the original Japanese story
(Mainichi Japan) April 11, 2010