I can't believe Liz Truss is 47..

[AirborneSnail]

Following on from a thread yesterday, I guessed Liz was 56. I was shocked to hear she's a decade younger. I guess I am being unreasonable. It was probably the photo of her having a meeting wearing comfy trainers that did it. How old would you have guessed she was?

Horrible post and surprising to see how many posters are jumping on to join in with how old they think she is.

I think the outrage about OPs observation is a bit over the top. It strongly demonstrates how people, in this case mainly women, think it's horrifying to look older than you are. Almost a phobic reaction to what seems to be an unbiased opinion.

I looked up LT's date of birth yesterday (for the thread about plane travel in her childhood) and was really surprised she's under 50. I would have guessed her at mid 50s. What is so awful about that? And it is not based on observing women in the public eye who have had cosmetic procedures, it is based on the ordinary women I mix with who are all early 50s to early 60s including myself.

Believe me, I could find WAY more critical things to say about LT than she looks a few years older.

She styles herself to look older because she’s relatively young to be PM and wants to add some gravitas, and because she wants to make a statement about the sort of politician she is. It’s just as conscious as Johnson’s messy hair and a valid thing to comment on. She also spends public money on this stuff, as PP have said. Commenting on this is completely legitimate- it’s nothing to do with judging her for her looks or age.

It’s not the most important thing about her, just as Johnson’s hair wasn’t the most important thing about him. But in each case those things were the result of conscious decisions about public image, and that relates to their public role.

I agree @Ponoka7 She looks stylish there.

I’m no fan of Liz Truss but this is a vile thread.

Wow, just wow, what a horrible thread, so full of misogyny..

Like other posters, I hate everything she stands for. BUT how she looks is completely irrelevant. But let’s say we do start analysing her looks - to me she looks like just like me and the other women I know who are of a similar age.

And what was that stupid comment about her looking old because she was wearing “comfortable trainers”!! I am in London and everyone - particularly younger women - wears trainers!

Why is saying she looks older vile?

I thought Liz Truss looks her age. The people who can't see past her style are the same people who can't see past other people's furniture or clutter when they view a house. Truss dresses appropriately for her position. Do you expect a PM to dress casually?
In comparison, Katherine, the new Princess of Wales, is very pretty and elegant, but she wears much more matronly clothes than others of her age. Her clothes however are appropriate for her position.

Everything she stands for is fucking vile. Perhaps she needs to stop going for the Thatcher look.

OP, this is not on! Why would you be commenting on anyone’s age or looks? It’s not cool and frankly, it’s misogynistic. I understand that she is not popular with many people but actually commenting on her actual appearance is chauvinistic. Not cool at all.

we could do a multiple choice:

Is 47:
A) her age
B) her IQ
C) the percentage drop in your pension since she took office
D) the total number of votes she'll get at the next election
E) all of the above

I'll be 47 this month and I am really hung up about my age.
Instead of enjoying another Birthday it fills me with dread. I have days when I can't even look in the mirror.
It doesn't help with all the hormones.
If anyone commented on my age I'd just fall apart.

I don’t think she looks that old, and agree it’s unfair women always get this kind of treatment re age and how their body looks. What shocks me is that someone in the year above me in school is running the country!! Makes me feel old

She looks like a professional 47 year old woman. As PM she has to dress and be styled in a certain way to look the part. Female middle aged senior lawyers, accountants, consultants, bank managers etc dress in a similar way. She’d look younger with softer hair, ‘glowing’ type makeup and more youthful clothing but then she’d get even more criticism for her appearance!

She looks around her age. She looks fine. A woman in her 40s.

I'm ten years older than her and not aging that well despite trying to keep on top of it all
If I were in the public eye I'd be pulled to pieces
Luckily I'm not

How tiresome. How is this relevant?

Raidcandle but she hasn't got her shirt together to run the bloody country! She is making a hash of it and people are suffering. For the first time ever I was asked for food by a guy on the street! Thought I'd misheard, but no not change wanted but something to eat. I'm starving hungry was his words.bought him a sarnie fro waitrose .this is a prosperous town in South of England!

I'll hazard a guess that for all the reporting of this thread that it will stay up because MN supports free speech however unpleasant as long as it is not defamatory and relies on pushback from users if appropriate to make their point amongst the general knockabout. The mods have thick skins and aren't easily shocked I would think.

Looking older isn’t vile. Thinking someone looks older isn’t vile. Bringing it up as a discussion point and engaging in that discussion in the context of a society which judges women’s appearances and causes women to feel insecurity over their looks is what’s vile.

We all know that ‘ooh, doesn’t she look old for her age!’ is not a neutral comment. A works where it is is theoretically possible, but we don’t live in it.

This is one more thread adding to the mountain of sexist, ageist shit that is out there and affects us all. Nice to know that when you leave your front door there are women closely inspecting your jowls (I particularly enjoyed the comparative study of Truss’ and Penny Mordaunt’s jawlines on here), hands, etc., to properly rank you on the ageing well-badly spectrum.

Ok then. Liz Truss is vile. She would still be vile if she looked like a 20 year old.

I'm 43 and it's now a standing joke I look like her. I'm not surprised she's only a few years older than me. Her daughters are teens so makes sense she's in her 40s.

I get plenty of people surprised I'm 43. I look younger so I don't agree that pale skin ages if you stay out of the sun as I do.

I do think we comment when politicians in power are young. It is sexist that we comment more on the appearance of female leaders.

I can't believe that someone has taken time out of their morning to post something that really has no relevance....

I can't stand the woman and everything she stands for but to start a pile on about how old she looks?

Nah, get a life mate and start worrying about what REALLY matters

She looks absolutely fine. And I don't think it empowers other women to be focused on her appearance anyway. Her hair, clothes, shoes etc are all much as other senior female politicians wear.

If you see her otherwise, you have perhaps seen through to her soul, as the wise old Roald Dahl said:

“If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it.

A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”

― Roald Dahl, The Twits