Inside of me, there was a Man.

Come on would anyone want to fuck an old lady?

In the middle of a discussion on age-gap relationships, I was posed this question. My first response and felt sense was that of deep-seated rage, it felt primal.

Then the thoughts came. How cruel, how unkind! Why would anyone want to speak of an older woman in that way!

Then came my response, which was something along the lines of, I don’t agree with this statement it feels unkind. To which the conversation moved towards attraction. My friend shared how looking young is generally considered attractive in society. We discussed our different perspectives on attraction. 

Upon reflection I shared that with age I have noticed that my attraction to other people has matured accordingly.  I am generally finding people around my age and older more attractive. Furthering as to why this might be the case, I acknowledge that it is not to deny the outward beauty of people younger than me. We are at different life stages and that plays a big role in attraction for me.  My friend questioned what was so wrong with finding younger people more attractive. I shared with him that I find age gap relationships particularly between older men and younger women extremely predatory in nature because of the latent power dynamics. Even when the man is well-meaning, there is something going on beneath conscious awareness.

This point has lingered for me.

My friend was not wrong to point out the fact that historically youthfulness has been favoured in terms of beauty. However, the root of the beauty standard for women has shifted in meaning. Let’s have a deeper look.

In ancient Egypt, youthfulness was associated with purity, holiness and higher social status. Creams, oils, ointments, makeup such as Kohl (eyeliner!) was used by both men and women in this society. Beauty had a deeper connection to the afterlife. It was believed that by maintaining the physical body, adorning it, and caring for it, would allow for better spiritual health after death. Maintaining a youthful look was also associated with reincarnation. In the context of this society, we can infer that the beauty standard was not just for vanity’s sake but deeply rooted to spiritual beliefs. However, when we fast forward to present day modern society, this looks and feels much different.

In history classes in the west, the 19^th century was often characterized by the industrial “revolution.” We were taught that this was a period of great economic prosperity. However, what was glossed over was the mechanics of industrialisation: child labor, hazardous working conditions, colonial extraction, so on so forth. All in all the mechanics were the exploitation of human beings. The way we were taught about the industrial revolution was propagandic in nature. It exemplified that colonization was a positive and necessary catalyst for change. So why is this piece of history relevant to the topic of aging in the modern world? Industrialisation meant mass production, in the west society was shifting from a needs-based economy to a desires based one. This wasn’t circumstantial, nor unintentional. As the field of psychology was being developed, some people saw the power that hid behind manipulation.

Did you know, this man called Paul Mazur – nephew of Mr. Sigmund Freud (psychoanalyst) said this:

“We must shift America from a needs, to a desires culture. People must be trained to desire, to want new things even before the old had been entirely consumed. We must shape a new mentality in America. Man’s desires must overshadow his needs.”

-Paul Mazur

Psychological manipulation was the building blocks of mass marketing. In the late 19^th century, advertisements began targeting imperfections in women’s skin, terms like crowsfeet were used to sell anti-wrinkle creams. To add to this, marketing preyed on insecurity and tending to the male gaze with messaging such as “your husband might lose interest” in direct reference to aging. As if the sole purpose of a woman was to be an object of desire to the male-gaze. This forced the consumer to view themselves as the problem, creating the illusion that something outside of them was the solution. The fantasy of eternal youth was amplified, and the ideal consumer was an insecure woman. The natural process of aging now becomes a personal failure rather than a fact of life. This messaging is so deep rooted it becomes shame.

Did we do away with all this? Sure, feminism has advanced women’s freedoms in society, such as being able to vote, having your own bank account, getting an abortion, etc. Has it done way with the male gaze, and women not being viewed as sexual objects, Hell fucking no. Consumerism is a monster we created and, we, continue to perpetuate these standards. Consumerism exists because of the oppressive systemic structures of colonialism/imperialism/white supremacy/patriarchy. These are intersecting systems of power used to oppress the ‘other.’  Women have always been the other, in a man’s world.

If we keep a woman small, compliant, and so focused on her external appearance, she isn’t going to the question the systems that create these unrealistic beauty standards, and for what/for whom’s pleasure.

Circling back to the comment regarding age and attractiveness, I can’t help but notice how we have associated aging with ugly and unfuckable. Purity culture in the 1990s normalised girls-as-virgins appearing more holy and dressing modestly. This really doesn’t sit right with me because it signals towards sexualising children. It isn’t far reaching to infer that looking young and beautiful, is part rooted in viewing the most helpless and vulnerable member of society ie. The child, as a sexual object. Whilst the Epstein files have horrified the public, this isn’t new information that pedophilia exists. Pedophilia is more common in our culture than most would like to believe. I would just like for society to start thinking about why and how? While this essay isn’t delving deep into the systems of power I have named, we cannot shy away from how they relate and amplify modern day beauty standards and how we view aging. Some versions of Feminism begins and ends with “fuck the patriarchy!” but fails to acknowledge the intersecting systems of colonization and white supremacy. I encourage you to always look deeper, especially if it is outside of your personal experience.

As we have come to understand, the beauty standard is rooted in power and exploitation. The beauty industry is worth approximately 620 BILLION USD, globally. All that money, at the expense of your feelings of insecurity, inadequacy, and at the cost of your agency.

What I have found to occur with age is the meeting of my true self, time and time again. This self is made up of contradictions, points of friction, learnings and unlearnings. I understand it to be fluid. As the years go on, the less I rely on external products to make me feel whole, when I notice a thought arise, such as

“I look tired, maybe I should get an eye cream.”

I pause. I notice, I challenge the thought, I ask it why?

Of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong with purchasing an eye cream if you are making the empowered choice to do so. But before engaging in a purchase, I wonder for what, who and why.
I then return to my true self, and realise well I don’t WANT to spend my money on this, I want to exist as I am. When I want to self-express, I do so in a way that feels empowering. This may be through makeup less days, but also on days when I want to decorate and adorn myself.  

A quote that really lands for me is as follows:

“One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman”
   Simone de Beauvoir

And I find this to be so true. It does not mean that we women, will feel completely free of the pressure the world bestows on us, but what I have hope for is to relieve the pressure that we have internalised. To re-acquaint with ourselves, in our wholeness, and to reclaim that space inside of our mind and body.

If we look to a bit of existentialism and the thoughts of De Beauvoir, who states that the concept of a woman, was never created by her, indeed it is at its core male constructed. To paraphrase De Beauvoir, what she means here is that the woman is the object and is ‘seen’ by the man. Which essentially denotes the woman as the ‘other.’

So what if the woman, sees herself, through her eyes?

We begin in the womb of a woman, we journey through the woman and out into the world we come, we land into the prison that is the male gaze. The system we grow up in feeds us fantasies and sells us products. It asks of us to internalise this gaze, and now inside the woman is the man. It is an internal prison. But what if you had the key to unlock the door and step outside and live into your wisdom. The older women I have met on my journey, have only opened doors for me, and doors inside of me; I want to continue passing this on.

What this doesn’t mean is you have to reject everything, but instead it means to question “why.”

So perhaps the question isn’t would you want to fuck an old woman, but rather, do you fuck with older woman?

Reference List

Defino, J. (2023). ‘There’s no ethical way to sell products that target signs of aging,’ Flesh World, 7 Aug. Available at:

https://jessicadefino.substack.com/p/theres-no-ethical-way-to-sell-products?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web (Accessed 18 Feb 2026).

Lubin, G. (2013). There’s A Staggering Conspiracy Behind The Rise Of Consumer Culture, 23 Feb. Available at:

https://www.businessinsider.com/birth-of-consumer-culture-2013-2#bernays-claims-he-was-the-first-to-tell-car-companies-they-could-sell-cars-as-a-symbol-of-male-sexuality-5 (Accessed: 18 Feb 2026)

Vanden Daelen, C., & Bruneau, C. (2020). “Capitalism and Patriarchy: Two Systems that Feed off Each Other,” 7 July. Available at:

https://www.cadtm.org/spip.php?page=imprimer&id_article=18732#:~:text=Capitalism%20and%20patriarchy%20are%20therefore,current%20realities%20of%20women’s%20work. (Accessed 18 Feb 2026)

(2024). ‘Women Aging in a Patriarchy,’ 15^th Century Feminist. 18, Jan. Available at:

https://15thcfeminist.substack.com/p/women-aging-in-a-patriarchy (Accessed 18 Feb 2026)

Wardell, A. (2024). ‘The Paradox of Women’s Aging,’ Psychology Today, 14 May. Available at:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/compassionate-feminism/202404/the-paradox-of-womens-aging (accessed 18 Feb 2026).

Vanbuskirk, S. (2025). ‘Understanding the Male Gaze and How it Objectifies Women,’ Verywellmind, 26 Oct. Available at:

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-male-gaze-5118422

(accessed on Feb 18 2026).

El-Kilany, E., & Raoof, E. (2017). ‘Facial Cosmetics in Ancient Egypt, Egyptian Journal of Tourism Studies, 16(1). Available at:

https://egittolizzando.altervista.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Facial-Cosmetics-in-Ancient-Egypt.pdf (Accessed 18 Feb 2026).