There’s something extra special about a person who is stunning by normalized societal “beauty standards” actually challenging those very standards. 61-year-old supermodel Paulina Porizkova does this often. She takes the concept of womanhood, beauty, aging, dating and turns it on its head to show that age isn’t just a number…it’s actually an aspiration.
In one of her most recent Reels on Instagram, she discusses the notion of flipping the audacity of getting older into a net positive. Dressed in a black and white graphic t-shirt, her long, grey hair parted in the middle and casually curled into beachy waves, she looks straight into the camera and makes her eloquent points.
Wise, rather than ‘fertile’
She asks her social media followers to imagine a different world. “Imagine if you grew up in a world where you were told and shown that women, as they age, go into a different type of beauty. Their older beauty will be respected and admired. Their sags and their wrinkles, well, they represent confidence and wisdom. And they are now valued as confident and wise, as opposed to pretty and fertile.”
She continues by suggesting that perhaps our makeup/plastic surgery habits would drastically change if we re-wrote the rules. “Imagine. Wouldn’t many of us then perhaps even aspire to look older? To BE older? Wouldn’t young women sometimes draw on wrinkles instead of rushing to get them Botoxed? Wouldn’t you greet the first strands of grey hair with excitement, instead of dread? There’d be nothing to fix. Imagine that?”
Under the clip, Porizkova asks, “What if? And also…WHY NOT? Why do we keep following old rules established to keep us small and unthreatening? Here’s the shocker. WE DON’T HAVE TO. It’s your choice.”
‘What’s the alternative?’
Over a thousand Instagram followers have chimed in just three days. One writes, in part, “My wish is that all women know their strength and magnificence. It’s inherent and majestic and aging is absolutely positively glorious. I mean…what’s the alternative, right?”
Another gives some historical and cultural context. “100 percent. And it was in history already like this in ancient China. Young people (were) so happy to find a gray hair. It meant maturing and becoming clever!”
Similarly, another adds, “Many Native American cultures place a strong emphasis on respecting women elders, valuing them as keepers of the family history, cultural knowledge, language, and traditions. In some nations, elder women also hold significant political or spiritual authority.”
Graceful and dignified
This commenter points out, however, that it’s not necessarily about growing older, it’s about staying healthy. “No one aspires simply to grow older. We aspire to remain healthy, age gracefully and with dignity. My grandmother often said that growing older is not for the faint of heart. As the years go by, I find more and more wisdom in her words.”
Many women already truly embrace the idea. “When I finally gave up dying my hair and saw my first white streaks come in, I realized I freaking love them. They look so cool. Power lights.”
Earning your beauty
My colleague at Upworthy, Annie Reneau, shared Porizkova’s similar sentiments from a post a few years ago. Porizkova was quoted as explaining, “This is why I believe we get more beautiful with age. We have earned our beauty, we understand what it is, and we can see it so much better. There is no such thing as ugly and old. Only shortsighted and ignorant.”
