It is a very worrying trend and as a father of a teenage daughter, supporting her through this has already started.
What genuinely surprises me is that this is seemingly becoming more of an issue not less of an issue.
The patriarchy plays a major role in building men’s expectations and privileged beliefs up and convincing women they need to look and be certain things to be liked and accepted. Both are utterly wrong and utterly damaging.
How we support the levels of self confidence and self belief in young people, especially women in this particular article’s case, has to be a shift away from making youth the most desirable thing, which in turn means making acceptance of ALL ages, sizes and appearances more important than a stereotyped version of the male fantasy.
It just goes to prove that the miserable will always find fault, no matter how they create it. It is very sad and speaks only of the people issuing these judgmental narratives. It's not enough now to be beautiful, powerful, intelligent and wealthy, as Millie Bobby Brown is...but instead question what happened to her 8-year-old face. It's not even worth the effort to respond to it. But it IS definitely worth the effort to assess and review the root cause as The Female Lead so thoughtfully has done.
Maybe it depends on the circle. But, for my tribe and those I know, they are a little too evolved to demean someone for aging.
Love this!
This hits so deeply. Thank you for naming what so many of us carry quietly.
The grief under the beauty myths. The hours and years we’ve spent trying to earn ease, safety, love… through appearance.
It’s not just personal. It’s systemic.
And the reckoning, especially around aging, is nice and real.
I’ve had so many conversations lately with women untangling themselves from this. It’s raw. It’s powerful. It matters.
Appreciating you for bringing this to the surface.
Gave it a nice restack!
It is a very worrying trend and as a father of a teenage daughter, supporting her through this has already started.
What genuinely surprises me is that this is seemingly becoming more of an issue not less of an issue.
The patriarchy plays a major role in building men’s expectations and privileged beliefs up and convincing women they need to look and be certain things to be liked and accepted. Both are utterly wrong and utterly damaging.
How we support the levels of self confidence and self belief in young people, especially women in this particular article’s case, has to be a shift away from making youth the most desirable thing, which in turn means making acceptance of ALL ages, sizes and appearances more important than a stereotyped version of the male fantasy.
It just goes to prove that the miserable will always find fault, no matter how they create it. It is very sad and speaks only of the people issuing these judgmental narratives. It's not enough now to be beautiful, powerful, intelligent and wealthy, as Millie Bobby Brown is...but instead question what happened to her 8-year-old face. It's not even worth the effort to respond to it. But it IS definitely worth the effort to assess and review the root cause as The Female Lead so thoughtfully has done.
Maybe it depends on the circle. But, for my tribe and those I know, they are a little too evolved to demean someone for aging.