33 Examples Of Double Standards Women And Men Face In Regards To Beauty While Aging

Some might say that beauty is subjective, or as the saying goes, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Basically, something that looks like a masterpiece to one person might be the most atrocious thing to another. 

And while that technically isn’t a lie—we have different standards of what we think is beautiful and not—at the same time, some more commonly “approved” standards make up what is considered the general idea of beauty. 

These standards apply to nearly everything, but are probably most often applied when it comes to people’s appearances. They include everything—from body shape to facial features, height, weight, and everything else. Essentially, think of any body part and there’s most likely some kind of beauty standard that could be applied to it. 

What is the most daunting part of these standards (besides the fact that they’re often pretty unachievable for many), is the fact that they differ from gender to gender. And, of course, women have it way harder. 

Let’s take a look at what kind of beauty standards are expected of women (and compare it with what’s expected of men). The first example could be body hair. Women are expected to not have any hair anywhere other than their head, even though body hair is natural.

At the same time, for men, hair is a symbol of manliness, so they don’t have to spend loads of money and time removing it just to fit what’s expected of them. 

There’s also a double-standard when it comes to things like makeup. Men can show up bare-faced and no one would bat an eye. Then, if women don’t cover their “imperfections” with makeup, some might say that they “don’t look presentable,” “look tired/sick,” or other things along these lines. 

So, many women spend a lot of money buying products and time doing makeup. And, yes, for some it might be a form of self-expression, but for others, it’s only a way to fit the expectations and “look presentable.” 

Then, there’s a whole separate discussion of aging. On today’s list, you’ll find examples of famous men being praised for their grey hair, aging symptoms, and overall being told that they look better with age.

And then, there will be examples of famous women being told that they’re worthless beyond a certain (and let’s admit, a rather young) age, being told their appearance isn’t good enough, or having to be vocal about “aging gracefully.” 

Essentially, there are enough examples of aging women made to feel less than others, while men are applauded for barely doing anything—just embracing the natural process of aging. And isn’t that unfair? 

By talking about it out loud, we’re raising awareness of how hard we are on women, and maybe one day these talks will slowly start shifting our beauty standards. After all, women have it hard already, so getting this burden off of our shoulders would be a blessing. Or maybe we’re just naive and nothing will change. Still, who can stop us from dreaming, right?