AGING AS A WOMAN IN A WORLD OBSESSED WITH YOUTH

AGING

Aging as a woman is a strange journey, not because getting older is bad, but because the world has made it feel like it is. From the moment we start noticing our first lines, our first grey hairs or our changing bodies, society begins to whisper or sometimes shout that we are on a countdown, not to die, but to become invisible.

It starts small, someone tells you, “You don’t look your age” or, “You’re still fine o”. At first, you smile, maybe even feel a little proud but deep down, you realize what that really means; looking your age is bad, youth is the standard, and everything else is a problem to be fixed.

Women are expected to age quietly. Wrinkles? hide them, grey hair? dye it, weight gain? fix it, energy dips? don’t let anyone see it but men age freely. They get older and suddenly they’re mature, grey hair gives them character. For women, the same changes spark advice columns, beauty tips, and constant judgement. It’s exhausting.

Social media hasn’t made it easier; every scroll reminds you that youth sell. Filters erase wrinkles and pores. Influencers at 35 look 24. Anti-aging products promise miracles, but your reflection in the mirror doesn’t come with a filter. You compare your real self to a digital version that doesn’t exist and suddenly aging feels like a personal failure.

Then there’s the body, nobody really talks about this part. Weight moves to places you didn’t expect, skin stretches or loses elasticity, your energy isn’t what it used to be. Some days, your body feels like a stranger, but you’re expected to carry on like everything is fine, to smile, to dress well, to not let anyone see that it’s harder than it used to be.

And there’s the emotional side, aging women often feel invisible. People stop listening as closely, rooms respond differently. You watch younger women get praised for potential while your proof of survival gets ignored.

The world measures women differently after a certain age and it’s demoralizing, but the truth nobody tells you is that aging also comes with freedom. With age, you stop performing for everyone else, you care less about approval, you stop explaining yourself unnecessarily, you leave spaces that drain you, you rest when you need to, without guilt, you start embracing your body for what it can do, not just how it looks and you realise comfort is more important than fitting into someone else’s idea of attractive.

Aging also gives you clarity. You know what drains you, what lifts you, and what matters. You stop wasting time on people who don’t value you. You stop obsessing over what society thinks of you, because you’ve lived enough to know the truth: your worth isn’t measured in wrinkles, kilos, or grey hairs. It’s in your presence, your choices, your courage to keep going despite it all.

The world tells women their value is highest when they’re young, small, and pleasing, it profits from our fear. Anti-aging creams, fitness trends, surgical fixes, all sold with the quiet message that aging is failure, But that’s a lie. Aging is proof that you’ve survived, that you’ve learned and that you’re still here. Every line on your face tells a story, every grey hair is evidence that you’ve endured and every ache reminds you that your body has carried you through life.

Aging as a woman can feel like resistance, because you’re refusing to disappear, you’re refusing to hide, you’re refusing to let society tell you that your value has an expiration date and maybe that’s the most powerful thing about getting older; you know who you are, you know what you want, and you finally stop shrinking yourself to fit into a world that only celebrates youth.

So yes, society might be obsessed with youth. But you? You’ve discovered that beauty evolves, that being older doesn’t make you less, instead it makes you more and maybe one day, you’ll realise you’re not just surviving the years, you’re thriving in them.