What Jane Fonda Reveals About Today’s Beauty Ideal as Women Age

When Jane Fonda turned 79, she rocked one of the most unusual birthday parties we’ve ever seen: she hosted a rally against Wells Fargo (fashionably hashtagged #BankExit). The goal was to motivate customers to invest in local credit unions instead of ones like Wells Fargo, which support the Dakota Access pipeline project. Even as she stood in solidarity with the people of Standing Rock – the most well known advocates against the Dakota Access pipeline – Lady Jane looked like she could strut down a catwalk at any moment.

Lady Jane, going casual, wore tight pants and a sweater. Not her average red carpet head turning Versace couture look: but this way, we got to see her bod! Those years of workout videos certainly paid off. Does your granny look like this?

Now, I must pose this question: is this the new beauty ideal for a 79-year-old woman looks like now? Well, yes – and no. It is – if she’s rich, worked out for about 40 years, always had great hear – and has Sally Hershberger cutting her Klute-like shag, always had great bone structure, has a makeup artist – AND – most importantly – has had something from two to three – to maybe four – face lifts. We don’t know that per se – only Jane and her doctor know for sure (and her bank account – if only bank accounts could talk) – but the 79 year old women we know who’ve had maybe one face lift don’t look like this – let alone no face lifts. Never mind the injections.

The truth is, society’s beauty expectations no longer apply to just the young. Suddenly, you have not age at all – or, at the very least, age well.

Of course, Jane Fonda’s solidarity with Standing Rock is admirable. And, of course, these issue of the Dakota Access pipeline shouldn’t be overlooked. However, we also shouldn’t overlook the pressures women are increasingly facing as they increase in age.

We’re standing in solidarity against construction that could threaten a culture’s way of life. Why don’t we also stand in solidarity against our own culture, whose increasingly strict beauty standards is threatening women’s future quality of life?