Do women really age worse than men?

[CoalTit]

I just read a novel where the protagonist thinks at one point how women age worse than men, and it took me back to a couple of boyfriends in the nineties saying that as if it were just something that everyone knows. I was really surprised that anyone would think the sex that goes bald ages better. Do any women think men age better than women?
YABU: yes, women age (physically) worse than men do.
YANBU: no, men as a class age just as badly as women.

Good God, of course he bloody is. He's calling himself Barbie and hanging out on Mumsnet to whinge about feminism and try to convince us that the average 74 year old man is a ripped sexpot who should fill any woman aged 34+ with crippling insecurity.

This is the most female contact he's ever had since his mother stopped breastfeeding him. It's the only screaming orgasm he's ever experienced.

Is Barbie a man or a woman?

"Go away, Rimmer."

"Look, I'm a bit out of sorts at the moment. I'm having a woman's period!"

Look at Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall. Who has aged better?

I'd say both of them have aged quite well actually.

Well, I myself (57F) am looking better than ever!! My husband, on the other hand, is decrepit as hell.

Physically I think its equal.
Socially however women are prized for youthful appearance and men often benefit from age.
Women are only fertile some part of their life (which is the primal reason for sexual attraction).
Men often gain some status (house,money etc) with age which is more attractive as they can provide better.Hence signs of age in women are not appreciated and yet accepted in men.

Both myself and dh have aged alot in the last few years. He is 41 and I am 40. He has aged more than me with alot of lines on his face and grey hair but he is still gorgeous. I am not being biased, he is an extremely good looking man, always has been. Even though he has aged, it suits him and he couldn't care less about his grey hair or lines. I think he looks as good as he did in his 20's just different. He is also slim and hasn't got the middle aged spread some men seem to get.

Me on the other hand have resorted to Botox to keep the lines at bay and I also got under eye filler for my undereye bags. I also spend alot of money on skincare, keep my hair dyed and work hard to stay in shape. Because of this dh looks a few years older than me. I still look good but it's gonna be a battle and an expense over the coming years but I just can't grow old gracefully. I hate the thoughts of looking old.

Men are allowed to get away with things that women can't, like going gray is fine for men, but a woman is expected to hide it. The same with weight gain. Men be proud of dad bods, women are to diet.

The notion that women age worse than men is deeply rooted in misogyny and the patriarchy.

It's absolute bullshit.

I’m sure you don’t have as many lines as you think you have, @fdkc. I suspect you’re being hyper-critical of yourself.

fdkc you've perfectly illustrated the point of how much more forgiving society is about the signs of ageing in men.

Heffers!

I thought you said slags for a minute!

But I'd agree with that. I go to the gym quite a lot and most men are distinctly average to overweight. The gyms @TokidokiBarbie is talking about are specialist ones like Gold's gym so in the minority. But in the main, including my social circles, 50+ men aren't in great shape. Obvs I'm the exception and a rare adonis, not.

Incidentally I watched "Good Luck to you, Leo Grande" the other night and Emma Thompson looked fab. Chapeau for showing off her body. Film was a hint cheesy but funny all the same.

Goodness. What a very unfortunate auto correct that would have been. Almost on a par with the one when I asked my BiL to send me a picture of his (newly laid) deck.😊
Yes, Emma Thompson does look great.
Another good example, though unpopular is Carol Vordeman who has a curvy and youthful body at 60 odd. People will say she's had surgery, but the waist definition is clearly her own work.

Haha. That would've been an eye opener!

There are loads of examples and I'm amazed people like Halle Berry, Julia Roberts, Lucy Liu and Salma Hayek, Jennifer Lopez are all over 50. Then you have the likes of Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis etc.

A bit unfair to be talking celebs but don't think my wife or Mrs Smith down the road would resonate with anyone!

This is why portly 55 year middle managers called Nigel are so successful in dating gorgeous 20 year olds on OLD.

That happens all the time, right?

No celebs are not a good example. They’ve paid a lot of money to a lot of dermatologists and surgeons to look like that! Just like Putin has!

Most people don’t have that sort of cash!

No, they join Mumsnet and bore everyone with a load of sock puppets in a desperate attempt to get some sort of female attention.

Well if Putin is an example of what an older man can hope to look like even with the benefits of surgery, I rest my case.

Misogynistic crap, designed to make women feel lesser, by telling them they're more deficient than men, and spend more money, by telling them in order to not be a piece of shit they need to spend, spend, spend! Which also keeps them in a greater state of poverty than men throughout their lives until they die, affording them less power to make any kind of change to bring about equality.

It's yet another example of a con, created to keep women down.

Well, you can compare male and female celebs can't you? In which case there isn't a cast iron conclusion that men age better than women.

The only thing I think is a shame is that so many women choose to have work done. But then Tom Cruise isn't exactly natural.

The thing is OP, the only people who think this are:
Insecure older men who want women to feel lucky to have them.
Older women who rightly or wrongly don't consider themselves very attractive, and project this onto other women.
People who don't get out much.
If you're not in any of those groups, you don't need to question what you can see for yourself on the basis of a bit of propaganda.

This!!
They think repeating it over and over makes it true.

It's wishful thinking on their sad saggy sock selves.

We do have eyes and just don't see 55 year old saggy Sals dating hot model types because it just isn't happening.

Fantasist thinking on men's part.

I’m a mid-40s man with a face that looks like a bag of nails that’s had another bag of nails repeatedly dropped on it from some height, but I still get checked out regularly walking down the high street.
Oh, hang on, that’s my reflection checking me out. But, you know, whatever, attention is still attention, sometimes you just have to do it yourself. Luckily my wife is a woman with low standards and poor taste in men, so… win-win!