Compromising Strides

For some time now, I’ve been wanting to weigh in on an article titled, “Nice Résumé. Have You Considered Botox?” that was in The New York Times well over a month ago. Finally, I have a space of several minutes to do so. The article was inspired from a new book titled How Not to Look Old by Charla Krupp. As I said, I’ve been wanting to write about this article for awhile now, but there are only so many hours in a day thanks to a growing business; I’m lucky I have time to run a brush through my hair and dab my cheeks with some blush. Nevertheless, I’d better make time, since, according to the article, “looking younger isn’t personal, it’s business.” Good grief—one more thing I have to add to my pressurized to-do list.

Part of the problem is how television is changing the perception of the businesswoman. Splashed in the center of the Times piece are photographs of Rose Marie from the Dick Van Dyke show in the ‘60s, Mary Tyler Moore from the ‘70s and Candice Bergen playing Murphy Brown in the ‘80s. These women were at the top of their game even with their visible frown lines and crow’s feet. That was then, this is now and any actress’s face today is smooth and, dare I say, expressionless, thanks to Botox. Yet, aren’t we more than just our looks? After all, those aforementioned actresses were breaking new territory for women. Now we can be CEO’s of major corporations, doctors and quite possibly the President of the United States. Yet, the caveat is that we must look much younger than we are while making these strides.

Still, Nora Ephron, who is a successful writer, makes it very clear that she doesn’t like her appearance in her book I Feel Bad About My Neck And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman. Those visible lines in the neck, though, can be hidden by a turtleneck or scarf, but when it comes to the face, well that’s another matter altogether. Due to my schedule, I went to the gym only once last week and while I was there I could feel the lines on my forehead deepening from worrying I should be back at my desk with the work that was piling up.

I’m all for looking one’s best, but there’s something about the mindset of “how not to look old” that bothers me. It’s implying that being old means being useless. Something else, too, annoyed me when I was reading the article. I kept wondering why are just women being featured in the piece? Where are the men? Again, it’s that old, yes old, double standard, and sadly, it is women who are allowing it to occur.