Oscar-nominated actress Jessica Chastain admits she never reveals her age. So is it okay to ‘fudge’ this basic truth?
For many women, age can seem like a defect. It’s an unflattering feature upon which we are ruthlessly judged, limiting our romantic, social and career opportunities.
For many women, age can seem like a defect. It’s an unflattering feature upon which we are ruthlessly judged, limiting our romantic, social and career opportunities.
Most of us had a birthday which heralded the point at which we did not want to be thought of as any older. I was 25, working my way up the media ladder in a publishing company and suddenly my younger co-workers looked fresh and dewy. ‘I’m so old’, I thought to myself. This seems stupid now that I am 34, but I was desperate to fit in and my age gap of just 2-3 years seemed cataclysmic.
The point is, we all like to be thought of as young. It means people look out for you and you can get away with more. So women, it seems, rarely mention their age and men apologise to us if they feel the need to mention our age (this makes us feel even older than we actually are, by the way!)
In our late twenties, we tend to knock a year or two off. Why? Many industries that women work in are creative, brutally competitive and none of us feel we can afford to be casual about the numbers next to our name.
Jessica Chastain never discloses hers because she doesn’t want to lose out on roles or be pigeonholed. And Agness Deyn admits she knocked six years off to foil the notoriously ageist modelling industry.
Jessica Chastain never discloses hers because she doesn’t want to lose out on roles or be pigeonholed. And Agness Deyn admits she knocked six years off to foil the notoriously ageist modelling industry.
But for many of us, what really counts isn’t how old we are – it’s old we look. In our thirties, most women see how ludicrous this is, because in many ways experience is just as valuable. At 25 I was convinced I was past it. At 34, I realise I’m not past it but feel a continual pressure to prove it. In our forties, we realise that needing to prove stuff is a sign of grave immaturity. At 50, being ‘past it’ seems to get more fun as we reach a level of self-acceptance.
If someone says you don’t look your age, retort, ‘Er, I do. This is what 34 looks like.’ Isn’t it time we all matured enough to not lie about our age?
If someone says you don’t look your age, retort, ‘Er, I do. This is what 34 looks like.’ Isn’t it time we all matured enough to not lie about our age?
Fact box
-2 years
Nicky Minaj was found out when a leaked police report revealed her true age
-2 years
Nicky Minaj was found out when a leaked police report revealed her true age
-6 years
Agness Deyn confessed to being six years older than her CV would suggest
Agness Deyn confessed to being six years older than her CV would suggest
-2 years
Nicole Scherzinger admitted that she’d been lying about her age back in 2008
Nicole Scherzinger admitted that she’d been lying about her age back in 2008
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