Aversion to aging - what's behind it?

Question

"Get rid of unsightly wrinkles!!" 
"Use this cream to get rid of fine lines and wrinkles and other unpleasant signs of aging!"
"This hair colour will hide those greys and keep you looking young!"
"Here's an LED mask to rejuvenate your skin! No one will know you're 50!"
What do you suppose is behind society's apparent aversion to any sign of aging? Whatever someone wants to do to their body or face, no judgement here, but why do you think there is such a general horror of aging? It's a normal biological process and happens to everyone. Also, why is this kind of messaging marketed so heavily toward women, as if having a wrinkle, a dark spot on your cheek, or grey hair means you've outlived your attractiveness, if not your usefulness as a whole?

Accepted Answer

two parts. 
the aversion to visually ageing is tied to misogyny. a woman’s worth is absolutely tied to her looks, her ability to remain attractive to men, and her ability to have kids. 
the aversion to ageing as a whole, is because our society is ageist. elderly people cannot prove their worth in our capitalist society, bc they cannot work (or are slower workers + therefore cost businesses profit). the elderly population are seen as a drain on our resources. barely any funding goes into making retirement comfortable, or goes into making recreational areas accessible for elderly people to enjoy. care homes are depressing af, but that’s where most elderly people here end up going - often times against their wishes but there’s no other choices available. 
at some point, we realise we are ageing + we will likely get to a point where we are in a care home, because as a collective we have not invested in environments for elderly people to thrive independently. that’s a super depressing reality.

Answer

Defs more a western thing. I'm Zambian. 
Age is good, we respect our elders. Age represents wisdom and knowledge.

Answer

This is because women are conditioned to think aging is a terrible, sad, awful tragedy. It’s far from it. Aging is a gift and comes with wisdom, insight, knowledge, and so much more. Everything you think about getting older is almost all bullshit.

Answer

Because getting old is really really sad.  At least for me anyway.  I look at old pictures of myself and I’m like damm I used to look good, now I look at myself and I’m like ugh what the fuck happened.  I just got done pulling out gray hairs 5 mins ago and now I’m depressed. 
Sorry I don’t have a more intelligent answer 🤣 I’m sure someone else can provide a better more educated response lol

Answer

After I became 30, this was heavily on my mind. However I noticed my male counterparts never felt this way, my husband, my male friends, none of them thought it was a big deal, but I suddenly felt less desirable in my age, and actually dreaded my birthdays for a while. I was self conscious of my graying hair, my crow’s feet around my eyes, the fact I was become a little softer around the edges instead of the fit, athletic body I used to always have. I think this aversion to aging is rooted in society’s concept of a woman’s worth being tied to her youthfulness and appearance. “You haven’t aged a day!” being given as a compliment as if aging is somehow bad. Men seem to become more desirable as they age, called Silver Foxes and seen as wise, sexy, and confident. But a woman in her 40s and 50s? Suddenly she is no longer sexy, just the mom or grandma, the dutiful wife who worries if her husband is eyeing younger women.

Answer

Well the hint here is that these are almost exclusively targeted towards women.

Answer

Because as soon as we feel there is something “wrong” with us, it’s an opportunity for someone to make make money off of us trying to “fix” it.  The worse we feel about ourselves, the more we believe we have to fix, the more money in pockets.  
Youth is also associated with beauty.  Beauty is associated with being able to find a partner, beautiful people can make more money in our society and I’d argue more friends due to halo effect.  Finding a partner, having friends and money is associated to our core with safety.

Answer

Good topic! This is something I think a lot about because I sometimes feel like I look and feel better now in my late 30s than I did in my 20s. And it often occurs to me I'm not *supposed* to feel like this -  I've been so conditioned to see aging as this terrible thing and it's been a surprise to me that I don't actually feel that way now that I am aging. 
I think it's a mix of things. I think its partly attached to the very antiquated idea that youth and beauty belong to the child bearing years - not so relevant anymore since life spans are longer and women are able to have children later in life, or can choose not to have children at all. 
I also think a lot of it is marketing. In order to sell anti-aging products in the first place companies have to convince women they need it. 
There's probably also a fear of our own mortality wrapped into a fear of aging as well. A lot of people probably feel like seeing lines and wrinkles appear on their face is a reminder they've lived half their life or more already. 
I think women are under a lot more pressure to appear youthful, as men are often regarded as "distinguished looking" the older they get, so there's a healthy dose of misogyny there too. 
I've really learned to appreciate crows feet and forehead lines and other signs of aging in the past few years and to see beauty in aging. I think the fact that so many people look past signs of aging and don't see the beauty in it is pure societal conditioning.

Answer

Because with old age the end is nearer. Life gets more painful and distressing. If they changed all your banking for example to be electronically and online as a young and agile person this is an advantage as an old person it's just so much more difficult. The world changes faster and faster and it is difficult to keep up with it. As the other comment said it is different in countries like Zambia not only because of the respect but also because many go back to their villages and people take care of each other. Meaning all the new technology is non of their business. There is family to take care of you it's normal not a burden.

Answer

I don't place that sort pressure on myself. Age is privilege, not a right kinda girl.

Aversion to aging - what's behind it?

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