A survey reports that women begin to feel old at the
age of 29, and men don’t feel old until age 58. Attitudes on aging affect
health as well.
Introduction:
A spokesperson
for a British-based funeral arrangement company reported that a study was done
to determine the differing attitudes and views on aging between women and men. The
survey, conducted by Avalon Funeral, found that women feel past their prime as
early as the age of 29. Men, by
contrast, don’t feel as though they are “over the hill’ until the approximate age
of 58.
It was reported
that one possible reason for men’s and women’s differing
perceptions on aging could be the fact that society seems to value
the attractiveness of a woman more so than that of a man.
Attitudes
about Aging
The apparent differing perceptions about aging
could possibly impact a difference in men and women’s health status as well. An
old saying, “You’re only as old as you feel”, apparently has some scientific
merit to it according to a research study from Yale
University and the National Institute on Aging.
Studies also show that attitude about aging
can be critical and impact health. In1968, surveys were taken of 386 men and women
who were under age 50. The same group was studied four decades later. The men
and women who had held the most negative stereotypes and perceptions about the
aged were markedly more likely to have had heart attacks or strokes than those
who had held more positive views about older people. Twenty-five percent of those
with negative attitudes about aging had cardiovascular problems. This was a
stark contrast to the thirteen percent of the participants with positive
attitudes who suffered such cardiovascular events.
Perceptions
on Aging for Men
Avalon Funeral Plans The study by the Avalon Funeral
Plans determined that two-thirds of men in the survey reported that they began to
feel past their prime when they began having difficulties performing sexually. The survey also found that 22% of
men in the study reported that they began to feel old when they started
noticing that music in bars and clubs was too loud.
Society plays a pivotal role in the differing
perceptions on aging. Men, it seems, are less defined by their attractiveness
than women are. Unfortunately, our society’s attitudes toward youth and beauty
are much more forgiving of men than of women. Society doesn’t expect men to be
as good looking and youthful as they age. Men are considered to look
distinguished, rather than old, as they age. In addition, some men are more
career oriented and such men don’t begin to feel old until they reach the age
of retirement.
Perceptions
on Aging for Women
Modern women feel past their prime when they no longer fit the nearly impossible ideals imposed upon them
by society. Ten
percent of women in the survey report that they begin to feel “over the hill”
when they begin to notice that their once-youthful skin starts to show signs of
wrinkles and begins to sag.Another fifty percent of the women in the study reported that they started to feel past their prime when their breasts and buttocks started to droop.
Interestingly, three percent of the women surveyed believed that when and if they started to behave like their own mothers, such behavior was a definite sign of getting old in their perception.
In conclusion, unless society adopts a more equitable attitude regarding youth and beauty of men and women, women will probably remain more age-conscious than men.
