42 and Hot (Any Other Age You're Not?): Thanks Feminism!

Perhaps you have heard of the recent pro-old lady article in Esquire, In Praise of 42 Year-Old Women.  If not go ahead and give it a read (and a look - there's lot of pictures!) and come on back.  I can wait a bit...oh back already?  Yes, I agree - it was very superficial.

Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but I did not look like those ladies when I was 42.  But there may have been some very logical reasons why.  For one thing, my second kid was 5 months old at the time I turned that awesome age so perhaps I was still reeling a bit from that trauma to my body and my beauty sleep.  Or, considering that was almost 6 years ago (holy shit - sorry - I just realized that I will be 50 in a little over two years) perhaps it was still in that long ago, awful time period when, to paraphrase this author, there was something tragic even about beautiful 42-year olds. Feminism had not yet come and rescued us from sinking into the swamp of old-age.  

This was 42 before plastic surgery...um, I mean feminism

But enough about me and back to his wonderful premise about the amazing awesomeness of 42 year-old women.  My, my that is a short window he's allowing there.  Not older women, not women in their 40's but *42 year-old* women.  Every single one of the average looking, representative of their age women profiled is exactly that - 42 years old.

Meanwhile, poor Melissa McCarthy and her bad luck at being 43.  Because I am totally sure had she been 42, she would have been included in this pro-feminist article praising 42 year-old women.  I mean, come on, he emphasizes the comic skills of his chosen ladies, so surely that is one of the main reasons for their being included.  She's smart, she's funny, she's pretty, she's successful - she's the whole package.  Well, everything but that pesky age.  It really is a shame that the shelf-life of awesomeness for a woman is so short.

43 is the new 42

And let's give thanks again to how far we have come thanks to feminism.  As the author points out, back in the day (the day being 1967) 42 year old women, unattractive sloths that they were without the yoga and pilates that feminism has thankfully brought to them to make them hot for a whole year, only had dowdy old Mrs. Robinson as their role model.

Remember, there was no feminism when this was
taken so she is definitely not a hot 42 year old.  

Yes, we've come a long way baby.  No one smokes in photos anymore.