Mental Health: Global Challenges Journal
https://www.sciendo.com/journal/MHGCJ
ISSN 2612-2138
“Best Before”: On Women, Ageism, and Mental
Health
Tetiana Danylova
1.2
, Serhii Ilchuk
3
, Svіtlana Storozhuk
4
, Galyna Poperechna
5
, Ihor Hoian
3
, Nataliia
Kryvda
4
, Iryna Matviienko
6
1
The Graduate School for Social Research, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
2
Institute of Social and Political Psychology, National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
3
Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
4
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine
5
Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University, Ternopil, Ukraine
6
National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
Abstract
Introduction: Our world has changed over the last decades, and one of the dramatic changes
has been the increase in human life expectancy. Due to important life-saving breakthroughs, the
current life expectancy for the world in 2024 is 73.33 years; and female global life expectancy is
76.0 years. This trend manifests one of the greatest achievements of human society, which,
however, reveals issues that humanity has yet to address. One of them is the place and role of
women over 40 in modern society.
Purpose
: This paper aims to unveil gendered ageism and to identify its negative impact on
women’s mental health.
Methodology: We conducted a systematic search in the main electronic databases, such as
PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Relevant studies were identified using
search terms: women over 40, aging, gendered ageism, mental health, wellbeing, beauty
standards, youthfulness, age stereotypes, multiple discrimination, inequity, identity, sexuality, social
exclusion, intersectionality. The authors used phenomenological philosophical, hermeneutic, and
inductive approaches, as well as the interpretive research paradigm.
Review and Discussion: Constant anxiety about aging, attempts to turn back time, desperate
cosmetic battles that women are involved in are far from just a tribute to fashion or female vanity,
but also an attempt to come out of the shadows, to overcome the boundaries of female limited
space, and to make a woman visible. However, women’s grand entrance onto the big stage
faces gendered ageism that forces women over 40 feel excluded in society and life by making
them invisible. Despite certain changes in public consciousness over the role of women in society,
we still live in a men’s world. The centuries-old subordination of women to men, cultural ideas
about the “perfect” female face, body, age, weight, compliance with which is a “pass” to the
world of success, or, according to evolut
ionary psychologists, a “mechanism” that promotes
survival, crystallize in various disorders, thereby undermining women’s mental health, downplaying
the value of wisdom, knowledge and life experience, and eroding women’s self-esteem.
Conclusion: Aging is a natural and inevitable process, and old age is a significant part of life,
which can be filled with joy, achievements of small and big goals, dissemination of accumulated
experience and wisdom. Unfortunately, these wonderful aspirations are hindered by ageism –
one of the last socially acceptable prejudices. Inducing age stereotypes and perpetuating
internalized ageism, our social environment maintains discrimination of women over 40 in
workplace, social settings, and private sphere that has detrimental consequences for women’s
mental and physical health. Therefore, combating ageism and sexism and eliminating age
discrimination is essential to support older women’s health and wellbeing. Both women and men
share the responsibility to progress towards true equity that will help women around the world
achieve success on their own terms and reach their full potential. Life journey of every woman is
a way of self-discovery and self-
development, in which the various aspects of a woman’s
personality come together to create unique integrity of body, mind, and spirit. To fully realize the
potential of half of humanity, it is necessary to dismantle the systems that maintain inequities, as
well as to raise up and empower women of all ages, colors, abilities to assert themselves and be
8
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Mental Health: Global Challenges Journal
https://www.sciendo.com/journal/MHGCJ
ISSN 2612-2138
respected in both public and private spheres, to accept reality and move on, to feel comfortable
and confident in their own skin, to do wonders for everyone on our planet, and to know that every
woman matters.
Keywords
women over 40, gendered ageism, age stereotypes, mental health, wellbeing, beauty standards,
youthfulness, multiple discrimination, inequity, identity, sexuality, social exclusion, intersectionality
Address for correspondence:
Tetiana Danylova - The Graduate School for Social Research, Institute of Philosophy and
Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
E-mail: danilova_tv@ukr.net
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International
License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
©Copyright: Danylova et al., 2024
Publisher: Sciendo (De Gruyter)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56508/mhgcj.v7i1.220
Submitted for publication: 28
April 2024
Revised: 16 July 2024
Accepted for publication: 30
August 2024
Introduction
O
ur world has changed over the last decades,
and one of the dramatic changes has been the
increase in human life expectancy. Due to
important life-saving breakthroughs that
encompass pharmacology, surgical and non-
surgical procedures, preventive medicine,
technological tools, food and water production,
environment protection, etc. (Desjardins, 2018),
the current life expectancy for the world in 2024 is
73.33 years (growth rate 0.230 %) (World Life
Expectancy…, 2024), while for most of human
history the global life expectancy at birth had
been bounced between 20 and 30 years (Global
life expectancy…, 2020). Female global life
expectancy is 76.0 years ranging from 88.66 years
in Hong Kong to 54.24 years in Nigeria (Life
Expectancy…, 2023).
This trend manifests one of the greatest
achievements of human society, which, however,
reveals issues that humanity has yet to address.
One of them is the place and role of women over
40 in modern society. If the average life
expectancy in past centuries was a maximum of
30 years, then women who reached the age of
40+ were considered not just old, but very old. In
myths and folklore, they are the Greek Graeae –
two (later three) old grey-haired sisters who shared
one tooth and one eye among them (The
Graeae, n.d.). An elderly woman personifies one
of the incarnations of the Greek goddess Hecate
and the Scandinavian Norn Urdr, who is the Norn
of the past (Crawford, 2015). An old woman from
Slavic folklore is Baba Yaga (or one of three sisters
of the same name) – an ambiguous character
that can either help or destroy (Henry, 2022). The
image of the Crone is associated with the end of
fertility, age-related changes during which a
woman loses her sexual attractiveness, but in
return she gains wisdom, experience, freedom,
and personal power (Applegate, 2021). The Crone
is one of the three hypostases that represent the
complete life cycle of a woman (Maiden – Mother
– Crone). Since ancient times, people were aware
of the impact of nature’s cycles on their being;
from their point of view, time was cyclical,
therefore, the Crone peacefully coexisted with the
Maiden and did not contradict her, and t
he
transition from one state to another was natural
(D
anylova, 2020
a).
If in the mythological-folklore space the Crone was
a part of the female world and within t
he
f
ramework of the roles assigned to her there was
no male dominance, then how do her earthly
prototypes feel and act in the real world with t
he
oppos
ite poles of masculine and feminine?
Purpose
This
paper aims to unveil gendered ageism and to
identify its negative impact on women’s mental
health.
Methodology
W
e conducted a systematic search in the main
electronic databases, such as PubMed, Scopus,
Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Relevant
studies were identified using search terms: women
over 40, aging, gendered ageism, mental health,
wellbeing, beauty standards, youthfulness, age
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Mental Health: Global Challenges Journal
https://www.sciendo.com/journal/MHGCJ
ISSN 2612-2138
stereotypes, multiple discrimination, inequity,
identity, sexuality, social exclusion,
intersectionality. The authors used
phenomenological philosophical, hermeneutic,
and inductive approaches, as well as the
interpretive research paradigm.
Review and Discussion
I
n the new era of longevity, in which the forties
through the mid-sixties are referred to as middle
adulthood, “when many people are at their peak
of productivity in love and work” (Lally, n.d.), it is
very unlikely that anyone would perceive a forty
year old woman as a crone. Due to the efforts of
medical doctors, estheticians, plastic surgeons,
fitness trainers, nutritionists, etc., women 40+ in
affluent countries look far younger than their age.
Many of them are successful and independent
and are at the peak of their prime. In addition, they
may feel much younger than their biological age
(Rubin, & Berntsen, 2006), which contributes to
psychological wellbeing, more active social
functioning, and a greater range of activities
(Keyes et al., 2011; Stephan et al., 2018). However,
all these positive changes come up against a
reality that is not yet ready to accept them.
Even though older people are not left in a
remote spot to die or thrown off cliffs today, they
are still ignored by society. They find themselves
cast to the margins of so-called normal life,
experiencing overwhelming boredom, a
humiliating sense of uselessness and loneliness in
a world that is indifferent towards them (de
Beauvoir, 1996). Younger and more energetical
people distance themselves from older
generations, thus relegating them to the category
of Others. S. de Beauvoir wrote that people tend to
ignore old age as a shameful secret and a taboo
subject since old age is disgusting, sometimes “at
the biological level” (1996). To a large extent,
rejection of the elderly may express an attempt to
escape from one’s own aging and mortality.
The subject of aging is even more complicated
when it comes to gender. As S. Sontag put it,
“getting older is less profoundly wounding for a
man, for in addition to the propaganda for youth
that puts both men and women on the defensive
as they age, there is a double standard about
aging that denounces women with special
severity. Society is much more permissive about
aging in men, as it is more tolerant of the sexual
infidelities of husbands. Men are “allowed” to age,
without penalty, in several ways that women are
not. This society offers even fewer rewards for aging
to women than it does to men” (1972, p. 31). As
the researcher notes, the double standards of
aging are especially harsh in “the sexual market”,
where only young and attractive women benefit,
while men remain desirable players until old age.
Even if men are not young and not attractive, they
can compensate for these “minor flaws” with their
status, financial position, fame, achievements,
since “men’s business is being and doing, while
women’s business is appearing” (Sontag, 1972)
Thus, a woman’s life turns into a constant struggle
with the calendar, namely with nature, with the
natural course of things.
Despite certain changes in public
consciousness over the role of women in society,
we still live in a men’s world. The centuries-old
subordination of women to men, cultural ideas
about the “perfect” female face, body, age,
weight, compliance with which is a “pass” to the
world of success, or, according to evolutionary
psychologists, a “mechanism” that promotes
survival, crystallize in various disorders, thereby
undermining women’s mental health. For
instance, body dysmorphic disorder or anorexia
nervosa are largely culturally conditioned,
however, they have very “natural” outcomes as
related to anxiety, shame, fear, anger, aggression,
lower intensity of positive emotions, lower self-
esteem, etc. (Esperet et al., 2012; Goss, & Allan,
2009; Levinson et al., 2014). S. Bordo wrote that
“most women in our culture… are “disordered”
when it comes to issues of self-worth, self-
entitlement, self-nourishment, and comfort with
their own bodies; eating disorders, far from being
“bizarre” and anomalous, are utterly continuous
with a dominant element of the experience of
being female in this culture” (2004, p. 57).
Constant anxiety about aging, attempts to turn
back time, desperate cosmetic battles are far
from just a tribute to fashion or female vanity, but
also an attempt to come out of the shadows, to
overcome the boundaries of female limited
space, and to make a woman visible.
However, women’s grand entrance onto the
big stage faces a number of obstacles. For
example, popular culture targeting a broad
audience still does not adequately represent older
women (and older people in general), despite
some improvements (Lem, 2021). M. Malli notes
that older adults are underrepresented in popular
culture, because the 21st century is an age-
phobic society: “Hollywood casts older adults in
peripheral roles where they are characterized as
grumpy and posing a financial burden on society.
Older age is predominantly stereotyped as a
period of vulnerability, dependency and
helplessness: these societal discourse about
ageing permeate popular culture” (2023), let
alone that aging women are more negatively
stereotyped than aging men. And even despite
the growing cultural visibility of older women, the
role models are celebrities 40+ without signs of
age, “overt ageism has replaced by a more subtle
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Mental Health: Global Challenges Journal
https://www.sciendo.com/journal/MHGCJ
ISSN 2612-2138
form of ageism” (Malli, 2023), and what we get are
old candies in new wrapper.
The perception of our age is based on the
dialectical interconnection between how other
people perceive us and what we understand from
their perception. Even if the internal changes are
imperceptible, we become aware of our age
through the lens of others’ attitudes towards it,
sometimes protesting against this label and
sometimes ceasing to understand who we really
are. In 1982, a renowned actress and model
Isabella Rossellini became the exclusive
spokesmodel for the French cosmetic brand
Lancôme. In 1996, at the age of 43, she was fired
for “being too old”. Isabella Rossellini was told that
she was very successful and women customers
were grateful to have a woman of her age to
represent them; however, advertisements
represent women’s dreams, not reality, and a
woman’s dream is to be young (Ranscombe,
2018). This retirement devastated her career and
she felt she had been unjustly treated: “I can’t say
I wasn’t sad… I know how to pose. I know how to
give expression, and I had all this wonderful
experience, but I couldn’t exercise it or offer it to
anyone. Yes, it was painful” (Hart-Davis, 2018). At
the age of 63, Isabella Rossellini was rehired by F.
Lehmann, Lancôme’s new CEO, as a global
ambassador for the company. Representing the
brand, Rossellini “fights” the term “antiage” stating
that “we can’t antiage. It’s against nature!”
(Schallon, 2018). When it comes to plastic surgery,
Isabella Rossellini says: “maybe instead of 65, you
look 58, but then when you’re 75, you look 68. So I
feel it’s winning a battle but losing a war” (Schallon,
2018).
Isabella Rossellini is not alone in her fight
against ageism. Helen Mirren, Liv Tyler, Judie
Dench, Glenn Close, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julia
Roberts, Nicole Kidman are among celebrities
who have spoken out against ageism and the
double standards of aging in the entertainment
industry (Schild, 2019; Raisborough et al., 2022).
Regardless of the occupation and achievements
of women, their worth and social status are still
associated with their beauty, which is often
perceived through the prism of youthfulness
(Raisborough et al., 2022). Good looks (beauty,
youthfulness, etc.) can be interpreted as capital,
namely aesthetic capital (Holla & Kuipers, 2016),
“aesthetic capital refers to traits of beauty that are
perceived as assets capable of yielding privilege,
opportunity and wealth” (Anderson et al., 2010, p.
566). In a youth-obsessed world, in which older
people are often treated as second-class citizens,
youthfulness and beauty have become an
aesthetic capital asset deeply ingrained in our
society and culture (Danylova, 2020b).
In the era of globalization and mass
communication, modern popular culture
contributes to the creation of an ideal female
image, which “forms” standards and stereotypes in
the mass consciousness. Women are forced to live
their lives based on these standards and
stereotypes. These cultural preferences are
fostered by the social environment: to be in the
spotlight and to meet with success you have to fit
into a mold that someone else has defined. As
Jane Fonda admitted, her decision to resort to
cosmetic surgery was largely due to the global
youth obsession and her desire to continue her
career. “I wish I were brave enough to not do
plastic surgery but I think I bought myself a
decade”, she told The Guardian (Shoard, 2015).
Gendered ageism is evident in the media
industry, in which women’s career opportunities
“evaporate when they reached their 40s or even
earlier” (Ross, 2024, p. 61). The lack of sufficient
roles for older women, unless they are caricatured,
grotesque, or characterful, also affects cultural
representations by foregrounding only “fresh”
women and reducing the diversity of female
personality to good looks and youthfulness.
Considering the interaction of age and gender
and its impact on the earnings of Hollywood movie
stars, De Pater et al. showed that “the average
earnings per film of female movie stars increase
until the age of 34 but decrease rapidly thereafter.
Male movie stars’ average earnings per film reach
the maximum at age 51 and remain stable after
that” (De Pater et al., 2014, p. 1).
The intersection of age and gender issues in the
media industry sends a message that youthfulness
and beauty are the only things that matter to
women and worth pursuing in life. All
achievements outside this area are insignificant,
which leads to the fact that women who do not
meet the “requirements” suffer from social anxiety,
stress, inferiority complex, envy, feeling of
inequality and guilt, eating disorders (Bozsik, 2020;
Danylova, 2020b; Harper, & Tiggemann, 2008;
Strahan et al., 2006). Although these standards do
not necessarily have negative connotations, they
may generate overly simplistic concepts and
expectations that devalue and limit women’s
potential (Eisend, 2010), thereby objectifying
them. Moreover, these imposed standards can
corrode self-esteem and self-perception of not
only older women, but also young girls (Kaziga et
al., 2021; Slater, & Tiggemann, 2006) and force
them to validate ageism and lookism constantly
investing in beauty and enforcing beauty
standards against each other.
As N. Wolf stressed, beauty takes women out of
the power structures (2002) returning them to
where men want to see them, that is, to a private
space, where their role should be limited to the
84