I'm usually an Ephron fan, but in this case, I think her humor has hit a wrong note. I think it's important for women to think about and write about their embodied experiences, but Ephron's perspective in this book strikes me as superficial and not critical enough. At a time when women face much more serious problems than wrinkly necks, it seems a bit irresponsible to me to focus our attention this way.
But I also think that the increasing negative focus on older women's appearances is the side effect of a more positive phenomenon: the opening of new roles for older women, beyond that of grandmother. Now that there is more recognition that older women are sexual beings, not just wizened caretakers, there is more pressure for them to adhere to certain standards of sexual attractiveness and beauty.
I'm usually an Ephron fan, but in this case, I think her humor has hit a wrong note. I think it's important for women to think about and write about their embodied experiences, but Ephron's perspective in this book strikes me as superficial and not critical enough. At a time when women face much more serious problems than wrinkly necks, it seems a bit irresponsible to me to focus our attention this way.
But I also think that the increasing negative focus on older women's appearances is the side effect of a more positive phenomenon: the opening of new roles for older women, beyond that of grandmother. Now that there is more recognition that older women are sexual beings, not just wizened caretakers, there is more pressure for them to adhere to certain standards of sexual attractiveness and beauty.