Halle Berry is on a mission to empower women to embrace getting older despite society consistently telling them the opposite.
During a recent interview with Fortune magazine, the Oscar-winning actor opened up about the damaging societal messages women are exposed to about aging, male double-standards, and her views on growing older with grace without cosmetic surgery.
“Historically, women, as we age, we just get old, right? Men get sexy,” Halle said. “They get gray hair and they’re silver foxes. We’re just old…we’re haggard.”
“Society tells us or has told us that our time is up…we should go out to pasture. We’re done with our baby-making years — that being our primary purpose for being here is to bear children — and when we’re done with that at 35/40, there’s nothing left for us.”
But Halle wants women to know that life doesn’t end when you get older. In fact, there’s so much to look forward to as you age, which is part of the reason why she launched a midlife women’s wellness business called Respin.
Along with the company, she’s also fighting for Congress to support a bill that would direct $275 million to research on menopause therapies and medicines.
“Aging is a privilege, and we should see it that way. We should feel that way about getting older. We should feel like the crowned jewels of our society.”
“I have always known that I’m more than this shell that I walk around in. I have longed for someone to say something to me other than, ‘Oh gosh, you’re so pretty.’ I’ve longed to hear other words. I know I’m more than this.”
The Union star went on to discuss why she chose to stray away from cosmetic surgery, despite Hollywood’s push for perfection. She once stated that Hollywood pushes plastic surgery on its stars like it’s “crack.”
But this topic is nothing new for Halle. The 58-year-old mother of two has been pretty vocal about celebrating aging over running to get cosmetic procedures done.
“As I’ve aged, I’ve been determined to age gracefully and naturally. It’s a shame that as women, we’re being told that we have to find a way to stay eternally young…forever 30, as though we’re not allowed to be human and do what we’re naturally born to do. We’re born to age and die.”
“But somehow, as women, we have to do the unthinkable. We have to figure out a way to do it, and unfortunately, we’re turning ourselves into monsters trying to do that. I’m committed to being a spokesperson for allowing yourself to age gracefully, knowing that you’re more than this shell you’re walking around in.”
Halle hopes women learn to focus on more than their physical attributes because their physical form will change. Instead, focus on your internal gifts, that way they’ll fully understand that their worth isn’t rooted in their appearance.
How do you feel about her opinions? Let me know in the comments!
