In a world increasingly obsessed with youth, Griffith University cultural theorist Associate Professor Margaret Gibson has asked the question: ‘What happens when people start to look younger, as they grow biologically older?’
With the growing ability of science and wealth to reverse the visible signs of ageing, Associate Professor Gibson delved into the social, psychological and philosophical implications of new technologies.
“We’re living in this bizarre world where people are looking younger as they get older, and what that means, particularly for women, is a tightening of already intense social pressure to defy age,” she said.
“We see celebrities, such as Kris Jenner who is 69 years old but now looks to be in her mid-30s, flaunting their new looks, prompting their millions of followers to try to emulate their results.
“She’s had deep facial tissue reconstruction, which is quite extraordinary, but only rich people can go to the extent she’s gone.”
For those who can’t afford such drastic measures, apps such as Instagram, SnapChat and TikTok are filled with often heavily altered images of people endeavouring to present their best selves, however a cultural shift has begun.
“People are starting to question their legacies and their photographic histories, with many having edited their photos then deleted the originals,” Associate Professor Gibson said.
“It’s not just how we alter our bodies physically through surgeries or Botox or whatever else, but it is the way we alter our photographic histories – that matters, too.”
Associate Professor Gibson also warned of cosmetic breakthroughs having helped turn a long-standing fantasy into a partial reality, but one that reinforces harmful ideals and leaves behind the majority who can’t buy into it.
“There’s something very poignant about seeing people age, but we’ve exiled the notion that ageing can have its own form of beauty,” she said.
“I think it’s deeply problematic, because if we constantly try to erase the reality that we age and die, we’re living in a death-denying fantasy.”
