Everyone Seems To Be Doing It

Posted by Sarah Fowles
Co-Founder, Family Friendly Media

Everyone seems to be doing it. Cosmetic surgery, I mean. It amazes me how many of my friends have ‘had work done’ and often people I thought would never succumb to this type of pressure. So I really started to analyze what is going on, rather than just say “Absolutely not me.” I thought perhaps if it could be them, it could be me. What I realized is that they really were not happy with the changes they saw in the mirror and they have the financial means to do something about it; so they did. I then started to realize that perhaps it could be me one day. What if I do wake up and all those fine lines and frown lines are no longer OK and I really don’t like how I look. Then what?

Well, I know I cannot have surgery. I just don’t have enough guts to be honest. So what about injecting products into my skin? I know for a fact that many people in my life would say that I am a prime candidate for injections. To quote a friend of mine, I am a forehead talker and as a result have the lines to show all the laughs and great conversations I have had. So could I inject poisons into my forehead and feel good about it? Well, right now I say no, but if the lines keep getting deeper and deeper, I may have to re-consider.

I feel that I am desperately seeking a solution. As more friends and peers have work done are they going to keep looking better and better and I am just going to keep looking older? What I wish existed was one place that informs you about great products and non-invasive treatments that help you age gracefully. I don’t mind having a few lines but I don’t want to look ancient. I would love to really take great care of my skin, look healthy and look great for my age. If anyone knows of this resource, I would love to hear about it. Or perhaps it is time to start one.

The Media: Beauty or Reality?

Do we really want to do away with all media portraying beautiful airbrushed women and the latest fashions that they dawn? How boring our lives would be if we didn’t have something to read in our fleeting moments of escapism where we enjoy flipping through a fashion magazine and admiring the images, the women, the big picture. Because that’s what women do. We don’t want to BE those women. We just enjoy the splendor and the beauty of it all. The aspirational, fantasy-like feeling that we enjoy when taking a moment for ourselves.

As women 40+ we are coming into our own. We are celebrating who we are and what we want and how we define ourselves. We are intellectual beings who make independent decisions and enjoy the comfort of having made it through those awkward 20’s and 30’s where it just hadn’t all come together …..YET. Well, here we are. What role does the media play for us now? What role do we want it to play? Should it censor and protect us or should it freely express and leave it up to us to interpret? As consumers, aren’t we smarter than many give us credit for?