Comments about Carol Vorderman in the DM

[Theresalwaysmoneyinthebananastand]

She's pictured in a bikini and denim shorts. I think she has a fantastic figure and I'd be proud to look like her at 61, even if she has had work done.
All the comments are so ageist, 'Desperate' 'put it away' embarrassing at your age' 'no dignity'.
If she were 23 years old nobody would be making such comments.

She looks amazing and actually far better than she did in her twenties. It’s a cross between jealousy and trying to put a confident woman in her place.

Seriously though, stop reading the DM, particularly the comments. It’s all the same bitter rubbish and only going to piss you off so stay away.

I think a lot of the judgement is because her career dropped off substantially, and she appears in mail online every other week for what she's (not) wearing. The inference being that she's noticed she's less relevant and is using her body to get some attention, which does seem somewhat desperate.

I have no doubt though that age does come into play here. Plenty of young women use their bodies for attention and although they are also judged, it isn't to the same extent or in the same way.

There is some expectation for older women to 'respect' themselves more, and not 'embarrass' themselves, their children or their partner. People are less comfortable sexualising an older woman than a young woman.

It's the Daily Mail. Experts in overt and Dog Whistle misogyny.

I know someone who sees her regularly in real life and they say her photos are filtered and she actually looks ridiculous and very plastic

I don't want to inadvertently attack Carol Vorderman personally, but I generally find that anyone who continually posts selfies of themselves in sexy attire, tends to have a self esteem problem. I know that Mumsnet will probably jump on me for being misogynistic or jealous and I'm honestly neither. When I see anyone habitually posing in a way that very deliberately draws attention to how sexy they are, I always feel that they are craving validation. I literally feel sad for people when I sense that the clothes and poses come from a place of inadequacy somewhere inside.

She looks ace but I just hate the obsession with looks in all ages.

I can only assume that the readership of the DM is comprised of the most stunning members of society if their bar is so high they can criticise CVs appearance. I don't like the woman, but there is no denying her physical looks are excellent and not just 'for her age' either. It's a bit sad I know, but she actually gives me hope for the coming decade and goes to show that middle aged spread isn't inevitable.

This.

Also, there is a weird double standard where people are saying 'this is just because older women are held to higher standards and aren't allowed to be seen as sexy etc etc' but at the same time saying 'she has a better body than me and I'm much younger!' Youth is the standard of beauty that most people subscribe to, whether consciously or not. PP say that young women don't get the same criticism for posing in their bikinis which is true, although there is often a need for validation there too.

However, when a woman is older and posing in bikinis, the whole premise of the praise is that her body looks younger than we would expect from a woman of her age. Often I find that there is criticism for harshly criticising older women who show their bodies off, yet it is justified by the fact that this person is meeting the standards of the 'youthful' body. I find it all very hypocritical.

I don't know. Everything I've seen of CV suggests she has pretty high self esteem. She is after all extremely intellectually gifted and has been successful so has never been all about her looks. She comes across to me as more of a late bloomer who knows she looks better at 60 than at 20 and is pleased and proud to show it off.

I do agree it's hypocritical and also hate the obsession with women's looks in all ages.
I definitely feel pressure to look good myself. I hate the ingrained stereotypes of women being invisible and past it over a certain age, and that only young women can be beautiful.

I do also think she looks even better at 60 than 20 and it's nice to see that it's not always just the inverse that's possible

Trying too hard to stay relevant IMHO. I saw her on telly a few years back after sh had obviously had quite a lot of facial surgery and I didn't even recognise her. She was a naturally attractive woman but she she looked awful after the surgery. That horrible plastic sheen to her skin, those weirdly high cheekbones and stretched out mouth.
Not an improvement in any way

She looks fine but certainly doesn’t look better than she did in her 20s. She has had a LOT of plastic surgery at this point and her face is starting to resemble the Bride of Wildenstein

Certainly not jealousy

Basically older women are expected to fade away into the shadows to make room for young women. Only by becoming invisible or a discreet support act for the young can an older woman escape criticism.
If she shows signs of her age she must hide away lest she disgust and terrify people with a glimpse of what their own future holds.
If she looks youthful she must also hide away, or else she is somehow cheating, greedily trying to prolong her youth, and hang onto something she should rightfully have passed on to her daughters.

She looks amazing. I can only see one comment on my screen not sure why??

Most of the DM commentators are bots (on political threads) or the sort I imagine sat on the sofa surrounded by biscuits, sucking air through their teeth whilst giving there expert opinion on Tom Daley's diving performance having not been near a pool since 1985 .... irrelevant and delusional!

I think she looks great but she's very thirsty. Both things can be true

She looks fine and I don’t care what she wears. But the fact that she is promoting an extreme juice cleanse and telling the world how much weight she has lost in such a short time is irresponsible. Diet culture is so damaging to many women - physically and emotionally. It’s depressing how many people are saying she looks amazing just because she’s thin.

• their not there ...

Surely she can’t be thirsty after all that juice… 😂😂

Why do you read the Daily Mail if you care about misogyny, ageism, and general bigotry?

I tbh ink any ‘celeb’ posting pics of themselves in a bikini for attention is a twit, whatever their age.

What I don't understand is even for those who disagree with your appraisal of her, why do people feel the need to voice every opinion they hold now? What are they gaining from being unnecessarily cruel about somebody?

Her body looks fantastic, but her face just looks weird, sorry.

Women can can beautiful all the way through their lives. I'm not sure (being honest here) if they can be sexy forever though. Same for men.

Sexiness is what I think is fundamentally attached to youth, and I suppose that's normal from a biological, reproductive point of view.

I watched a podcast recently on the difference between a 'hot' woman and a 'beautiful' woman, evolutionarily speaking. It was very interesting.

I think I'm pretty attractive but I don't think I've ever been very sexy. I'm happy to continue to go through life continuing to make the most of my features and feel no sadness about not being seen as "hot" when I'm older. I'm going off on a bit of a tangent here.

I grew up with a mother who was incredibly concerned about looking young and being attractive, and she really is, even now. But I really resent the obsession with 'looking young'. I'm not going to applaud anyone who is basically showcasing how young they look because I find it a) attention seeking and b) a toxic mentality.

I do think that older women can be seen as sexy. Jennifer Coolidge still is seen that way by many, in fact, many women in their 50s and beyond. Carol Vorderman said she has a lot of 'special friends'.
Ok maybe a 90 year old won't be, but it's certainly not something that suddenly drops off after 40.