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13th August 2024
11:27am BST
Apparently women, whether they're famous or not, aren't allowed to age. That's judging by some pretty harsh remarks on Michelle Keegan's social media.
The actress, who is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful women on earth, was targeted by trolls over the weekend.
Why you ask?
Because she hasn't frozen in time and looks her age.
The actress was met with nasty comments about how she looked 'old' but she dealt with the trolls in the most perfect way.
One said: "Looking good but getting older Michelle."
The actress perfectly responded by saying: "I should think so I’m 37."
The remark, and similar ones, proves society is obsessed with women remaining youthful forever whereas men are praised for ageing naturally.
A speckle of grey hair on a man and he's instantly more handsome, but if a woman doesn't cover up her greys then she's judged.
The comments about how Michelle Keegan has aged are disheartening because we view ageing in such a negative light. My 90-year-old Nanny always reminds us that ageing is a privilege so why is society so against it? The wrinkles on your face or your grey hairs aren't offensive. Society's obsession with women looking permanently 21 is.
As one of Michelle's followers said, women simply cannot win.
"Age but don’t look like you’ve aged, wear makeup but don’t look like you’re wearing makeup, look after your skin but don’t look after it so much that it looks flawless, which god forbid might offend somebody. Bloody hell you can’t win. Being a woman is hard!"
We're called out if we get Botox but ridiculed if you can see crow's feet or a forehead wrinkle. We're called fake if we dye our hair rather than embracing our grey gruaig, but the pressure society puts on us is hard to ignore.
I'm only 29 years old and already feel that pressure and have found myself overanalysing the slight lines on my face and fretting about the handful of greys on my head.
Ageing is a good thing and something we shouldn't be ashamed of, whether you're famous like Michelle Keegan or not.
Can't society let women age without putting even more unattainable beauty standards on our shoulders?
As Emma Thompson said: "The trick is to age honestly and gracefully and make it look great so that everyone looks forward to it".
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