The Meaning of Age Positivity and the Impact of Mature Female Models

Our age is merely a technicality compared to every other detail that makes us the people we are today. However, for women, age feels as if that is all they are. While society is evolving to look past a woman’s age, the media still has some work to do with increasing age representation and becoming more age-positive. Luckily, there are mature female models helping put age representation back on course.

What is Age Positivity?

Many have heard of body positivity: the acceptance of all bodies regardless of size, height, race, appearance, etc. Age positivity is similar but focuses on the acceptance of all ages. The concept and the movement of age positivity centers around the mindset that there is more to someone than how old they are. Becoming age-positive takes time and learning. We need to think back to what we learned about aging, and look at it from a new perspective. Aging should not be viewed as growing old, but rather should be seen as gaining experience in life. A person’s age should not be frowned upon, but celebrated.

Why Age Positivity is Important

Women have faced the harsher end of media regarding how they should look, act, dress, and so on. In the eyes of the media, there is no right answer as to how a woman should live her life. There is only the wrong answer. Everyone ages, but women are the ones being told by the media to not look their age, and how to appear younger. Age positivity is important for women to not see themselves as only a number they cannot control. Creating an environment for women to be confident about their ages allows them to embrace a part of themselves and live how they wish to.

How Mature Female Models Are Making a Difference

Two of the goals of the age-positive movement are to remove age stereotypes and feature more mature women in media. Representation matters for everyone. People deserve to feel seen in films, on television, and in magazines. By increasing age representation, age stereotypes will slowly vanish from the media. Mature female models are already battling these age stereotypes and proving to the world that their value does not rely on their age. Women in their 50s and older are growing in popularity on social media and on the runaway because they are giving other mature women the representation they deserve. Bringing more mature women into the modeling industry pushes the media in the right direction, and will motivate women everywhere to not let their age define them.