Halle Berry thinks it’s a “shame” that women are told to find ways to “stay eternally young,” and is determined to “age gracefully and naturally.”
In her recent interview with Fortune Magazine, the Oscar-winning actress opened up about the pressure on women to reverse aging and how that pressure is leading many to ruin their natural beauty in pursuit of looking younger.
“Aging is a privilege. It’s a privilege to age, and we should see it that way,” Berry said.
The Never Let Go star went on to describe how women are influenced to fear the natural aging process. “I think it’s a shame that as women, we’re being told that we have to find a way to stay eternally young, forever 30 – as though we’re not allowed to be human and do what we’re naturally born to do.”
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Unfortunately, the fear of aging has spread everywhere – teens on TikTok are already creating anti-aging routinesbefore they’ve even finished puberty, and women are spending fortunes on fillers and surgeries. The media is constantly telling us that aging is the enemy.
“We’re born to age and die,” Berry said plainly. “But somehow, as women, we have to do the unthinkable. We have to figure out a way to do it. And unfortunately, we’re turning ourselves into monsters trying to do that.” The word “monsters” might seem harsh, but maybe we do need a little tough love to prevent going overboard with cosmetic work, and to stop letting the plastic surgery industry take advantage of our insecurities.
This hyper-fixation on youth starts even earlier now, thanks to social media influencers and the beauty industry. Teenagers used to wear cheap lip gloss and experimented with eyeliner – today, they’re slathering on retinol and Drunk Elephant moisturizers.
Every wrinkle cream, filler, and laser treatment comes with the promise of erasing time, but at what cost? These “tweaks” only drain our bank accounts and teach us to reject the natural progression of life.
Berry continued, “I have longed for someone to say something to me other than, ‘Oh gosh, you’re so pretty.’ I know I’m more than this. So as I’ve aged, I’ve been determined to age gracefully and naturally.”
Of course, I’m not saying you have to toss your skincare routine or stop wearing sunscreen – but I do think that we should do a better job of changing our perceptions on aging. Instead of fighting the lines and wrinkles, what if we embraced it? What if we didn’t see it as bad, or even beautiful, and saw it as something neutral?
Berry’s parting message is mine as well: “I’m committed to being a spokesperson for allowing yourself to age gracefully, knowing that you’re more than this shell you’re walking around in.”
