Jessica Tandy. Cicely Tyson. There are so many women, in all walks of life, in eras past. Beautiful in their youth. Beautiful in their middle age. Beautiful in their old age. Certainly they experienced the pressures of their time but the world had not yet forgotten that beauty is a life-long affair and not the sole possession of the young.
Kerri and I go round-and-round. She is an advocate for women’s rights, as am I. Yet, I find that I regularly point out to her the constant barrage that she and all women endure and in which she participates: the promotional idea that their bodies should be different. That they should be different. My questioning always makes her mad. For that, I am grateful. Her anger is the rumbling of a dormant volcano.
Women should not, as a rule, need to modify, change, or otherwise manipulate their bodies. The same goes for men. There is a fine line between doing something because it makes you feel good – beautiful – and doing something because you have to try and squeeze into an image-expectation of youth, an aging body forced into too-tight-jeans. An image-corset. A media butt-lift.
There are benefits to being young. Wisdom is not one of them. That comes with a few years, lots of miles walked, and the arrival of crepey-skin. I can’t imagine anything more beautiful than a wizened body, proud and alive with the stories it carries. Shining eyes alive with a life of experiences. What a shame to try and cover it up or wipe it with cream to make it go away.
read Kerri’s blog post about Crepey Skin
smack-dab. ©️ 2021 kerrianddavid.com
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: the melange |
The Direction of Intention 
Amen, brutha!