I’m old enough to remember headlines like “Best and Worst Beach Bodies” and “Worst Celebrity Body EVER.” Most of the contenders were of course women, usually mothers, and certainly over 40.
Dimpled thighs, flabby bellies, wrinkly skin… every inch of our ‘decaying’ bodies was examined under the microscope for the baying public to judge.
Yep, nothing brings out the pitchforks like a woman who dares to grow older. Especially someone who is bold (or foolish?) enough to wear a bikini on the beach.
How dare these women do their less than perfect bodies to us!
Ah, how the worm has changed. And about damn time.
Like many of you, I recently laid my eyes on photos of former Ironwoman Candice Warner and radio superstar Jackie ‘O’ Henderson — mothers of three and one, respectively — looking in the absolute best shape of their lives.
Let’s not beat around the bush. Their bodies are bloody sensational. Not just for women aged 39 and 49, but by any standard.
Go, ladies! A fit body is hard work; it takes dedication, motivation and time. I respect every woman who works hard in the gym or on the track. Candice is a champion; fitness probably comes naturally to her. But even after retiring and having three daughters with cricketer David Warner, she has kept it going.
Amanda Goff says seeing Jackie O, 49, (left) and Candice Warner, 39, (right) looking fantastic shows that 40 is the new 30
Jackie O, on the other hand, is a little different. She is not an athlete and has even battled addiction. But today she is sober, happy and at her peak fitness level.
She is also single. Who wouldn’t want to be the man hanging on her arm?
Now let’s get to the spiky part.
This week I saw pictures of it too celebrity landscaper Jamie Durie, 54, on the beach in Sydney with his model fiance Ameka Jane and their two children.
I’m going to say what most people thought when they saw the photos: it was great to see Jamie looking so happy and relaxed with his beautiful family.
And here it comes – and I say this with love -. I also noticed how the former Vegas stripper’s once-famous abs were now replaced with a “daddy bod.”
There I said it, and I say it with a shudder, because as a woman, and as a grown woman, I know what it’s like to be judged for the way my body has “aged.”
Jamie is a handsome man and he has had a great career. He became a heartthrob for Australian women – first as a dancer for the all-male revue group Manpower, then as a TV gardener. He even reached Oprah.
Amanda noticed that former Vegas dancer Jamie Durie (pictured on the beach earlier this week) has taken a more relaxed approach to fitness lately
I remember having a huge crush on him – and I still do.
Now that he’s in his 50s, a father, and about to marry a beautiful woman, he’s clearly relaxed his fitness routine, and who can blame him? Maintaining the abs he had in his twenties would be a full-time job. And let’s face it, his physique was his job. Dancing every night and then spending his days toiling in the garden would have been great exercise. But now that he’s winding down, Jamie may look a little different, but he’s also never looked happier. I am genuinely happy for him.
But to get back to my point. Why am I comparing Jackie and Candice to Jamie Durie? You see, there has been a change, and every woman I know has noticed it.
Gone are the days of the silver fox. Now it’s time for mature women to shine.
Sixty is the new 40, 40 is the new 30… you know what I mean. Older women look great – and they look better than men their age. In my previous life as Samantha
Society has given us permission to grow older and we are doing it – damn well. We look better now than we did when we were 25, we live longer and we look sexier in our 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond.
It’s finally our time to shine.
And here’s my theory why: more of us choose to remain single after divorce, we have our own careers, our children are a little older, or perhaps we’ve chosen to remain child-free; we have more disposable income to spend on ourselves, we eat well, we exercise, we take care of ourselves; some of us opt for surgery and Botox – it’s our choice after all.
Compare the average 50-year-old man today with a 50-year-old woman and the difference is enormous.
No wonder dating can be so miserable.
‘Sixty is the new 40, 40 is the new 30… you know what I mean. Older women look fantastic – and they look better than men their age,” Amanda wrote
I’ve lost count of the number of women my age (50) who tell me they only date younger men because, as a friend recently complained to me, “men my age don’t take care of themselves.”
I met a fit woman in her 50s yesterday who had just married a man 24 years younger. “We match each other with energy and drive,” she said. “Men my age usually drink too much, eat too much and become complacent.”
Women are often told that we look good ‘for our age’ and that we are ‘still’ attractive. Wow – thanks for the compliment! Men, on the other hand, have always been judged first and foremost by their career, bank balance and who they are hanging on their arm. It seems like their appearance doesn’t matter much. Sure, men are objectified from time to time, but in general it has always been that wayand so generous, so forgiving of men with imperfections. We say they have cute ‘dad bodies’ – yet I’ve never heard a man covet a ‘mom body’.
But times are changing.
The secret is out: ladies, it’s our time to shine. If you’re over 40, it’s time to grab your bikini because it’s going to be a hot girl summer.