Last week, my mother and I were watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians — a guilty pleasure that we occasionally indulge in together. That particular evening, we’d opted for one of the older seasons and, halfway through the episode, found ourselves astonished by how different the cast looked.
It’s no surprise that most, if not all members of the Kardashian-Jenner family have had a little bit of work done over the years. After all, lip-filler, rhinoplasty, and botox are discussed as informally as a new haircut nowadays. However, what truly shocked us, was Kris Jenner’s transformation. The 69-year-old recently underwent a surgical procedure that allegedly set her back six figures — and left her looking a solid thirty years younger.
Privilege
Personally, I can’t help but feel slightly disturbed. There’s something deeply unsettling about living in a society that places youthfulness on a pedestal, and treats signs of aging as defects, rather than achievements.
In many Eastern cultures, aging is a privilege, associated with years of wisdom and valuable experience. Numerous indigenous communities take a similar stance, viewing their elders as the keepers of communal stories and knowledge. Our Western society, however, seems to have an aversion, or even a repulsion to aging — so deeply embedded, that we hardly even question it anymore.
Taboos
I remember asking my primary school teachers how old they were, only to be dumbfounded to learn that this was considered impolite. To this day, I’m bewildered by the fact that we treat a natural, unavoidable part of life as a shameful secret. We praise “anti-aging” skincare, marvel at the works of talented plastic surgeons, and envy those who appear younger than their chronological age. And whether it’s due to the bitter reminder of mortality, or the inescapable decline in physical and cognitive health, growing old has become one of society’s taboos.
I worry about the implications of our ageist perspective. We seem to have collectively accepted a cruel paradox: the longer you live, the less you matter. But what happens to those who cannot afford to impede the inevitable wither of time? Will there ever be a time where we can age with dignity?
Robin van Wasen, student at UCM