J.Lo's lingerie line, Kim Cattrall's Skims campaign empower midlife women, erase invisibility

I am so tired (mentally, not physically) of reading articles such as  ‘Why Are Women Over Fifty Invisible in the Workplace?’ How older women can combat feeling invisible or unseen in social situations’ and ‘Will you become Invisible As You Age?’ I am not fatigued because I don’t believe in the essence of these articles, on the contrary, in a survey conducted by Gransnet 70 per cent of women believe that women become ‘invisible’ as they get older, but only a third think the sample applies to men. Although some may argue that Jennifer Lopez and Kim Cattrall are no ‘ordinary older’ women and they are the exception rather than the rule, I still see the fact that they were chosen over  ‘younger’ models as a huge positive as it is without a doubt a big step forward in combating the notion that women become invisible when they hit a certain age milestone. 

When asked recently how she felt about being asked to be part of the Skims campaign at the age of 67, Kim said “When I look back on what 40 and 50 and now 60 looks like, how that, I feel we’ve come a long way. What’s changed the most is my attitude towards ageing. I’m saying yes to things that are positive and nurturing for me. I want to celebrate these years that I have.”  I totally concur with Kim when she says ‘We’ve come a long way.’ but if we are still writing articles about the invisibility of midlife women, there is still a long way to go. When Helen Mirren attended the 2023 Cannes Film Festival for the premiere of Jeanne du Barry, she rocked up with blue hair that worked with her powder blue dress perfectly. I love her unabashed confidence and thoroughly agree with her comment about not conforming to rules. She said “I grew up in a world where there were all kinds of rules as far as women were concerned, and then saw people like Madonna come along, and break them all. She was totally a woman after my own heart. All rules are made to be broken.”

For those who haven’t read my article about Madonna ‘It should not be about Madonna’s age but her Celebration tour, I clearly have issues when it comes to defending celebrities and women generally when it comes to their age. I have always been a huge fan of the French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir and this quote by her still strikes a chord with me in 2023. “It is perfectly natural for the future woman to feel indignant at the limitations posed upon her by her sex. The real question is not why she should reject them: the problem is rather to understand why she accepts them.”

I certainly do not accept any limitations posed upon my sex and the same should be applied to age. Let's applaud Jennifer Lopez and Kim Cattrall and never allow ourselves to be invisible. I can assure you the word ‘invisible’ will never be a part of my vocabulary and I urge you to banish it from your thought process.