KaZ Brownlee
Creative Producer/Film and Television Consultant
Torfoot Inc.
So once I was having work done on my face for a while, I wanted to reflect on others saw me and how their reactions made me feel. First off, in Canada the emphasis on your age doesn't seem to be so crucial. I have never been asked my age by anyone in the biz and I work with fantastically talented and experienced women of all ages. Talent seems to win out more so than a size 2 body and a neatly pressed face.
I have become very proud of my fitness level and the shape I am in because I have worked tirelessly at obtaining it. OK, yes, I am a size 2 but I AM a little gal (5'4") and was always small. I only gained some weight after my later-in-life pregnancy and becoming more sedentary for a few years. I have gotten back into my working weight (I was a dancer, stunt woman, professional water skier and circus artist) and I am training clients now so I like to be a healthy example. However, I digress. 45, 46, 47, started to feel REALLY good to me and now at 49 I look in the mirror and think "You GO girl, the hard work has paid off".
I have become very comfortable in my skin and am not afraid to tell anyone who asks how old I am. Here's the rub...I was talking to a gal pal of mine in LA and the subject of age came up. I told her, 'Ya know, I am going to be 50 in January". And she said "Shut Up!" I said, "...no really, I am going to be 50". She said, "no, really, I mean you should shut up about it."
I guess the deer in headlights look I gave her said it all, so she explained - "When you look too good, you alienate people. They are insecure enough as it is so if you look too good, they just hate you." "Isn't that their problem?" I asked. Well, not if you are trying to work with them or get a project done, she told me.
So here's the dilemma, do I let myself go and not alienate these insecure, dysfunctional 'Hollywood' types or do I give them the one finger salute and carry on??? I think by now you can guess what my decision was. I wish I was a low maintenance gal but, alas, it was not meant to be. I have a friend who has had nary a thing done to her face and she can just slick some Vaseline on her lips, curl her eyelashes and step out into the world looking 30 at 56. Expletive deleted.
www.allthatkaz.com
Monday, November 17, 2008
Canada vs the States: Cosmetic enhancements and vision of beauty and aging – the reactions
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
The “Best Lie about Your Age” Contest going strong!
There have been thousands of people from across the country visiting the DefineYourself.ca site to share their best lie stories. Nothing like a cool contest to grab people’s attention.
It’s quite fascinating how much easier it is to get people to admit to lying about their age in total anonymity as opposed to getting them to admit this on camera.
A few weeks ago, I tagged along with Aimee from DefineYourself.ca to invite Torontonians to share their best lie stories. Most people were quite happy to hear about the contest and they were thrilled at the idea of being able to win $1,000 of MedSpa pampering and rejuvenation, but when it came time to actually getting them to talk on camera … that was a whole different ball game.
The truth is that most people have lied about their age at some point or another for whatever reason, but they don’t necessarily let others know of that publicly.
People lie about their age for a number of reasons:
- Vanity
- Industry related realities for those working in front of the camera
- Ageism in the work place and the fear of being passed over for promotion
- Dating a younger partner
- Dating after a recent divorce or the break-up of a long term relationship
- Body image issues and not feeling happy about the visible signs of aging
The contest is open to all Canadian men and women and will be judged based on the craftiest and most outrageous story.
To participate, simply visit www.defineyourself.ca to enter!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Looking to find the next Anti-Aging Diva!
Have you ever lied about your age? I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all lied about our age at some point in our life.
When you were a teenager, you might have lied about your age to appear older in order to take advantage of privileges reserved for people who were older or to increase your chances of catching the attention of a certain boy.
Later in life, you might have lied about your age to date a younger man or because you simply felt that your age didn’t reflect where you thought you’d be at this point in your life.
It could also simply be that you’ve lied about your age because certain “numbers” made you feel “old” and that feeling scared you.
DefineYourself.ca has just launched a nationwide contest: the Best Lie About Your Age Contest which is open until August 22, 2008.
The contest was inspired by a recent story in the British press about a talkshow host who admitted to keeping quiet when the media dropped a year from her real age ... DefineYourself.ca wants Canadians to share their great lie stories.
The contest is open to all Canadian men and women and will be judged based on the craftiest and most outrageous story. Alas, American readers won’t be able to participate in this contest.
The judging panel consists of women from DefineYourself.ca’s previous season casts and yours truly!
Here’s the best part of the contest: the crowned Anti-Aging Diva will receive a $1,000 credit for a day of pampering and services and will be featured on DefineYourself.ca!!!
To participate, simply visit DefineYourself.ca to enter!
Monday, April 23, 2007
Welcome to Defineyourself!
Hello, and welcome to the defineyourself.ca blog!
Just a little about me, your friendly blog moderator. I’m a recently married, 36 years old, about to have my second child, and definitely notice the signs of aging on my face (not to mention my energy level!) I’m an admitted sceptic, somewhat cynical about most things, but would like to think I am open-minded at the same time (it’s possible to be all those things at the same time, right?!). I’m really looking forward to hearing from all of you, and getting an idea of how Canadian women truly feel about aging.
In some ways this is the best time in my life, and I hope that remains the same over the coming years and decades - are you feeling the same? Join me as we uncover what makes us really excited, hopeful, angry and yes, secretly curious, about aging and all the options out there! Take a look at our first webisode, and then click on “Meet the Women” to learn more about this group of women individually - you may see yourself, or someone you know - in each of them.
Our next webisode launches on May 1st, and I am as interested as the rest of you to learn what happens next on their journey. So be sure to stay tuned and if you’re like me and will never remember a date unless it’s engraved on your wrist, sign up to receive each webisode as they are released! I hope you’ve had a chance to go through the site and look at all the features We are looking to build a community of active participants who can really add a voice to the topics we are covering here, so send us your comments, sign up for the newsletter, send us your videos and let us know how YOU feel!
In our next post we’ll hear from one of the women we are following and learn what brought her to want to participate and what this experience has been like for her so far.
Alison
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