The Art of Hyprocrisy
“Hypocrisy: prejudice with a halo”
Ambrose Bierce
This post is dedicated to lovers of mature cheddar and blatant hypocrisy.
I’ve decided to start lying about my age on MM and other modeling forums. No I’m not suffering from gerontophobia (fear of getting old) and 90% of the time I forget that I’m classified as geriatric in the modelling world now that I’ve turned forty, at least until someone reminds me, which photographers do, rather too often.
“Uh-oh!” you’re now saying. “Someone’s called Lin ‘an old model.’ Run for cover, quick!”
Long term readers will now correctly anticipate the inevitable rant about how incredibly annoyed I get when I am referred to as a “mature” model (What am I? A piece of mouldy cheese?) or when yet another a photographer tells me that “beauty is ageless” (yes I do realise Mr Toggie that you’re trying to be nice but clearly you have an I.Q. equal to your age, because frankly I can’t think of a more condescending thing to say to any woman.)
Why is it that our industry deems models to be “over the hill” by the time they’re twenty-five? Why does youth and beauty in the photographic world usually equate to the 18-25 age group? And why are the majority of photographers ageist (present readers excepted of course) even though I’m sure they don’t think they are, and I know they’re really just trying to be nice?
Forget the crap you read in magazines. FORTY IS YOUNG. I’m not dead and buried yet – spend too much time in the modeling world and you’ll end up feeling like photographers want to exhume your body every time they ask to shoot you, or worse, they treat you as if you’re only modeling because either a) you’re in the throes of a mid-life crisis yourself, or b) you’re clearly a bit deranged but worthy of study “for the art, you know” but God forbid they pay you for a shoot…just be grateful for what you can get at your age.
Whoa!!! Deep, regular breaths…breathe in, breathe out…calm thoughts, Lin…calm…
Now hang on a minute, perhaps I’m being a wee bit hasty here?
Aren’t I just as guilty of ageism as everyone else? If I'm not remotely ageist then why do I stereotype "older" men as being sexier and more attractive than their younger counterparts? Oh yes I do, you know. Not that I have anything against younger men of course (my hunky young window cleaner bears an uncanny resemblance to John Cusack, and what teenage girl’s knees didn’t wobble precariously after seeing him in Say Anything?) but I’m first-and-foremost attracted to experience, wisdom and silver beards, all of which are primarily found in “mature” cheese-loving individuals of …um…a slightly older persuasion (unless said beards are caused by stress of course…and hello dearest Rich, please do stop tweezering your grey hairs 'cos I really do adore them.)
Older guys are sexier, no doubt about it. Not only do they usually share my rather cynical attitude to life, but they invariably treat me as an equal, not a fossil, they never condescend to tell me I’m “still a pretty young thing,” and they do make me feel like I’ve got a brain rather than a pair of (saggy) breasts. Don’t get me wrong, men in their forties are great, but in the last couple of years I’ve realised that they’re often way too stressed out working or busy having mid-life crises and chasing twenty-year old totty to take much notice of women of their own age.
Older men have done the ego trip thing and come out the other side a better person. They are invariably battle-hardened, don’t take themselves too seriously, and more importantly they know a heck of a lot more about everything, which means I can learn a heck of a lot from them. To me at least, good conversation, wit and wisdom are far sexier than a guy’s firm and rippling young muscles or his mighty schlong.
Am I sounding ageist and offensive yet? Good. Now you know how it feels on MM, every single day.
Maybe I really am getting old, because it seems to me that chemistry between two people isn’t really about physical appearances, it’s about the mind connection. Brains will always be sexier than brawn. Sorry, but it’s true. Real beauty is in the mind, not the body, and because the mind improves with age like a fine wine or that maturing piece of cheese, then I guess that, my friends, is why I’m drawn to men older than myself, and why I am fundamentally as guilty of ageism as the very photographers I criticised in the first place.
I’m very good at the art of hypocrisy though, even if I do say so myself.
Images are of Syd
posted by Lin at 9:13 AM
7 Comments:
First, as an older gent I adore you! I think age has to give us something besides gray hair and a dragging libido. Knowledge is a good choice at least I think. But you know that men get to mature in a ways women aren’t allowed. As we get older we get wiser and gentler, easier to be around because we have less testosterone I think so it knocks the edge’s off. We’re much nicer to the other men we had been in competition with a few years earlier. I noticed that among the male in my circle we’re allowed to hug now and we don’t question anyone sexuality. It’s a good thing. Finally I’d love to shoot model in there forty’s and above but there aren’t any available in my area, too busy with there families and businesses. I have a friend who I’ve been shooting since she was twenty two and she disappeared when she turned thirty five. So it’s hard to shoot what you don’t have.
I like to shoot with anyone who is comfortable with their own physical appearance. It's when people have unrealistic expectations about how their bodies should look in a pictures that things aren't so great.
Oh, honey, I am 64, so 40 is young, darn it, you're a frigging kid, green behind the ears, the best is yet to come, etc. You're just not old ENOUGH. Just wait.
Michael is correct. You can count on the fingers of one hand the number of models on Mayhem who are in their 60s. Scarcity creates demand. At first I felt people saw me as a freak, an oddity. Well, maybe they do, but that's just because I have an eccentric personality and always have, not because I'm 64.
I did a nude shoot last Saturday with a 29-year-old male body builder. Lin, look what you have to look forward to. It gets better. Really. Believe me. It does. You just need to get old, and you're nowhere near it yet. I'm sure not.
Lin,
In my opinion, women are incredible. Some twenty-something models get to grow up to be one.
There is nothing more satisfying than to show the beauty of a woman. Confidence is a very sexy thing.
Yummmmm!
Why don't you just lie about your age, it happens all the time and for sure you won't get in to trouble and in any case you look why younger that forty if that is you in the picture, you look stunningly beautiful
Thanks but that's not me, it's a gorgeous model called Syd, who I'm not sure is modeling any more. Syd? Are you out there?
You've inspired me.
*Goes to blog*
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