Canadian Woman’s Response to Age-Shaming Salesperson Goes Viral

Most women over the age of 30 have experienced it: Being discreetly age-shamed by a cosmetic or skincare salesperson in a dialogue that’s disguised as a series of backhanded compliments.

“You look great for your age, but….”

“This product will make you look 10 years younger…”

“This one works miracles…”

Well, one Canadian woman’s Facebook rant about getting age-shamed by one such salesperson when she was simply trying to navigate her way though an airport has gone viral. After being lured into a skincare shop by a free bar of soap (they always have some sort of offer to get you inside…Oro Gold, I’m looking at you), the following conversation – as documented on Facebook by the woman – ensued:

Man: “Your skin is so natural-looking; you aren’t wearing any makeup, right?”

Annick: “Um, nooooo?”

Man: “Let me guess your age…” Proceeds to pull out a number 12 years younger than she is.

Annick: “I look my age and that’s OK actually.”

Man: Unsure how to handle that. “Let me show you our face serum, because if you aren’t careful to maintain your skin now, these wrinkles on your face will get much deeper; by 45, creams won’t help anymore.”

Annick: “What’s wrong with a woman looking 40?”

Man: “Well, let’s talk about the bags under your eyes, and smile lines—my eye cream could improve those in 15 minutes.”

Annick: “What’s wrong with my eyes? I have a miracle baby at home and haven’t slept in two years, so if I have bags I am grateful to have them, and my husband and I laugh a lot. Those are his fault. He loves how I look…I don’t think I need your cream.”

Man: (nervously) “They may be manageable now, but by 50, it’s too late to correct sagging skin and deep wrinkles; unless you act now, only surgery can correct those.”

Annick: “What’s wrong again with a woman aging? You know, my husband and I can’t wait to grow old together, we talk about it all the time, how we’ll be this funny wrinkled old couple. My husband is going to age too, we all are. It’s kind of how life works.”

Man: Glancing nervously at other customers in the store who are listening in… “Wait, if it’s the price that’s an issue, I can offer you our special this week: all three creams for $199—that’s cheaper than Botox!”

Annick: “I look fine now, and when I’m 45 I will look fine, and when I’m 50 I will look fine, because there is nothing wrong with a woman aging. Old age is a privilege denied to many, and I don’t appreciate you marketing youth instead of your products, and denigrating aging women as a sales tactic. Thank you, but I don’t want or need your cream.”

She continued writing: “I was so horrified by the normalcy of his sales pitch, and the sales ringing up at his cash [register], that I took a picture of that wrinkled baggy face he was selling to, right on the spot. This is the face my children and my husband love. I think I’ll keep it.”

picture

Amen.

As it turns out (not surprisingly), many others – both men and women – feel the same way. At the time of writing, the post has been shared nearly 35,000 times on Facebook. Since posting, she has updated her status. “I was really excited for a couple of minutes (that was my ego talking) until I realized what that meant,” she wrote of the viral post. “It means that in 2016, refusing to accept self-loathing as a beauty standard is a radical concept. And that is just depressing on a whole other level.”

She’s right.

At a time when things like fillers, Botox, and plastic surgery are becoming as commonplace in your 30s as an Instagram filter is in your 20s (accompanied by the relentless messaging that “30 is the new 20”), aging gracefully the way that most of our mothers have (who look great, by the way) has become a rarity. In fact, opting for the latter is seen as deviant or rebellious.

The societal assumption is that all women are fighting against youth’s clock, losing value as their beauty fades. And when there are so many anti-aging options available, it’s assumed that she will naturally opt to preserve her youthful appearance in any way that she can. That’s what, sadly, makes the post viral – that it’s seen as a deviation from the norm if a woman chooses to age gracefully.

Don’t get me wrong – there’s nothing wrong for a woman to take the opposite route, in my opinion. I’ve seen things like a little Botox or microdermabrasion heighten the confidence of many of my girlfriends over the age of 30.

But, anti-aging products or not, we really need to move past this “shelf-life” mentality we place on women as they near 40. As everyone from Helen Mirren and Brooke Burke demonstrate (a little work or not), female beauty can shine at any age. Just ask Cameron Diaz, who’s been blatantly and proudly rocking her wrinkles as of late and even released a lifestyle guide on loving everything about aging – and looks happier than ever.

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