New Book on the Anti-Aging Industry: Selling the Fountain of Youth

I'm very excited to get my hands on a copy of Selling the Fountain of Youth and see what Arlene Weintraub has to contribute to the subject of the anti-aging industry. I'm not so concerned about the idea of pursuing beauty from a healthful perspective. I don't think it's wrong to want to maintain health and a healthy appearance throughout life, but a line does get crossed where people seem to confuse "health" with "youth." If we don't have the experience of watching the generations in front of us age naturally, how can we embrace our own aging process?

Youth Knows No Pain: A Look at the Anti-Aging Beauty Industry

This documentary, Youth Knows No Pain, examines our fear of aging from the perspective of the 60 billion dollar a year anti-aging beauty industry.

Promo

I haven't had the chance to see the documentary in full, but am eagerly awaiting the chance! One of the facts revealed in the film was how much money the filmmaker spent on just dying the gray out of her hair, which seems financially untenable! I have a friend with early gray hair who is considering foregoing her $200 / month hair coloring costs and letting it all go grey. On the one hand, I celebrate this idea of embracing her true beauty (she's one who is fortunate to have a gorgeous grey!). The trick is that, unlike a woman in her 20's with grey hair who will be perceived as and treated as a uniquely young woman with silver hair, my friend is in her mid-thirties and will instantly age "up" into her 40's. The concern I have about this is that, after reading numerous studies about how our self-perception shifts with the way others treat us, the biases that are directed at older women, and the physiological outcomes of our internalized ageism, her self-concept may be altered in a way that could impact her healthful aging process. I know it seems like a stretch, an exaggeration of the potential physical harms of ageism, but who knows where these micro-inequities start and what true impact they have?

Movie: Silverstreaks

In the spirit of full disclosure - I have no interest in running, especially not in running marathons. Having said that, however, this upcoming documentary on older women marathon runners looks very inspiring. The site doesn't disclose when or where the film will be released. I think it's a short piece. Perhaps I'm becoming pleasantly jaded about aging, but while it's impressive anyone completes a marathon, I'm not blown away by the fact that women over the age of 65 have done it. To me, 65 seems the new 45.

Check out the trailer at Silver Streaks the Movie.