THE 21st century has brought many changes, among them a real sense of wellbeing for older women.
In a study covering Australia and New Zealand, well over half of older women interviewed said they feel younger than their own mother seemed at the same age.
However, the Millers 40+ Woman Study of 4300 women also revealed they do not feel they are being represented in line with their own positive outlook.
Most said they feel younger than they are (85 per cent) and more youthful than their mothers were at the same age (61).
In the 70-plus age group, 62 per cent said they feel younger than their mum seemed at their age. In women 60-69 the figure was 63 per cent, while for those aged 50-59 it was 57 per cent. In each of those age groups 26-35 per cent said they felt a lot younger than their years.
Seventy-six per cent wanted to see women their age appropriately represented in media such as advertising, fashion spreads, movies and TV. Nearly half said this was very important to them. But 80 per cent of these believe this is just not happening, saying they’re depicted as “old”, “elderly’’, “frumpy”, “invisible’, “unfashionable”, “dowdy” or “unimportant”.
Millers womenswear brand director Jane McNally said the survey demonstrated women 40-plus feel misrepresented, despite feeling proud of their age and who they are.
“Over the years we’ve struggled to find models through the usual casting agencies and we’ve always wondered why this age group is so under-represented, particularly when we see so many beautiful women in our stores,” Jane said.
“From beauty and entertainment, to fashion and film, the messaging in the market is telling women they should look younger and hide their years. We need to proudly recognise all women over 40 and celebrate their beauty, vibrancy and character – wrinkles and all.”
In response to the study, Millers has unveiled the Seeing Me Project – a pledge to use customers in advertising plus a digital community hub to showcase 40-plus women.
“It currently features a casting call where you can apply to be a Millers model and ambassador, research into hot topics for women 40-plus, interviews, behind-the-scenes footage from photo shoots and our inspirational video celebrating women of all ages,” Jane said.
Worryingly, despite about 60 per cent of women regularly feeling valued by their family and friends and 65 per cent feeling respected, 78 per cent said they had felt invisible when engaging with those beyond their close circles, with 15 per cent regularly feeling this way.
Retailers lead the places where women said they have felt ignored (65 per cent), followed by public transport and walking down the street (44 per cent), social gatherings (42 per cent) and at restaurants or cafes (33 per cent).
The Millers Seeing Me Project is out to combat the issue of 'invisibility' of older women. The Millers 40+ Woman Study... Posted by The Senior on Sunday, 6 September 2015
