Forever Twenty

Men have always had an upper hand when it comes to aging. Take a look at male news anchors and hollywood actors. Their careers last considerably longer than their female counterparts. So why is it that men seem to age better than women? Dr. Murray Feingold has a theory as to why this is:

With age, women frequently develop cellulite while men do not. Cellulite is the dimpling of the skin due to fatty deposits and gives the skin an orange peel appearance. The reason it occurs more frequently in women is that women have thinner skin and a greater amount of fat accumulation, especially in the area of the thighs and buttocks, than do men. Other factors associated with the appearance of aging, in both sexes, are the loss of elasticity, the effects of the sun and smoking. Let me propose another theory, perhaps not as scientific, why women may appear to age less gracefully. The skin of a young woman is much more appealing and attractive than that of a man with his beard and furrowed brow. Therefore, women start out looking much better than men and have more to lose. Also, because women are more concerned about the aging process, they may be more sensitive regarding their appearance than the male who was never that great of a beauty.

I agree mostly with what the good doctor has to say, but I personally think it has a whole lot to do with femininity versus masculinity. When a woman has an hourglass shape and a pretty face it enhances her femininity. Of course as a women gets older these characteristics tend to decline. A man's "ruggedness" which can be classified as masculine doesn't necessarily decline with age. Sometimes it even gets better. Femininity and masculinity is ultimately what attracts the sexes to each other in the first place. So this may very well be one of the reasons why men seem to age better than women.

Well, at least that's what I think.

posted by Jennifer  # 6:22 PM