Does a woman’s value decline after 30 years old? Meaning, we believe we’re becoming undesirable for men the moment our bodies start changing and looking older.
However, it really comes down to our relationship with men and the current system we live in.
A Woman’s Value Decline After 30 Panic
When we enter a state of fear regarding our value fading after 30, we may begin trying to maintain our appearance. We end up spending a lot of our time and money to keep what we think is a young appearance.
When we start freaking out about a woman’s value decline after 30, we may also have other thoughts:
- “We’re becoming more of a medical risk.” Because we are aging, we are at a higher risk for complications with pregnancy and general health conditions like peri-menopause, menopause, and breast cancer.
- “People won’t take us seriously.” Our looks are changing, which means we may not be taken seriously and, at worst, be disrespected and treated poorly due to ageism.
- “My partner will find me unattractive” (if you are in a heterosexual relationship). We constantly worry about whether our partner or husband still finds us attractive and has his eyes only on us. A fear may emerge: He may look at other women and desire them more than me.
In addition to these thoughts, we also observe the subtle changes in our bodies over time. The natural signs of aging begin to appear, including wrinkles, jowls, and changes in the neck, as well as visible veins on the hands and arms, along with fluctuations in overall weight.
It can become too much for a woman to handle. The emotional toll of realizing you are entering a stage in your life that is unavoidable and will, in a way, “only get worse” is a lot. It’s natural for our self-esteem to plummet – that’s why we as women get a ton of work done – it helps lift up self-esteem.
The reality of aging in our current society can sometimes be too difficult to bear, so we undergo procedures to cope with it.
However, I am here to tell you that aging is a natural part of life – it’s our current system and society that are not allowing us to accept it. Our current society is trying to make us feel bad for something that is going to happen to everyone.
The Age Trap
This whole aging problem is a mess, and it’s a result of our broken system that breaks women’s spirits.
The system is not on our side, a woman’s side. We see this clearly in the healthcare system, where there is a lack of resources to support women throughout all stages of life. Then we go on social media or TV and are bombarded with messages that looking old is bad and scary. We panic and think we must do everything we can to prevent signs of it!
The system does not comfort women about aging. Its prime audience right now is the teens and 20-year-olds (current Gen Z generation), and already this generation is scared of aging. That alone should tell you there is a massive problem with the messaging women receive daily.
Additionally, we are trapping other women in the fear of aging through various means: judging ourselves in front of women, judging other women, or discussing how certain products are erasing wrinkles, implying that wrinkles are a bad thing.
There are thousands of ways we are trapping ourselves into the idea that aging is bad and scary. And then we stay stuck in this cycle – which, by the way, the system loves to have us in – buying products and undergoing procedures to prevent a natural occurrence.
Redefining Aging
It’s time for us, as women, to redefine and shape our relationship with aging to be softer, more embracing, and more acceptable.
The only problem is that, despite working on our emotional relationship, the physical world may not support us – we may still encounter rudeness or judgments about our age from others.
So, working on our relationship with ourselves while also working on managing our reactions and experiences from the toxicity of the outside world is only one piece of the puzzle. It’s a lot to handle, but we are capable of handling this mess and dealing with it together.
Featured photo by Photo by Taylor Smith