Howard Jacobson asks

Well-written article, and hits the nail on the head. It is sad when women fight to retain their youth at the expense of their dignity and happiness. Deep insecurity lies at the bottom of all this - and cosmetic surgeons are happy to cash in.

Not just women is it. I was watching something on TV where they showed the men and women at a conference to do with anti-ageing. They all looked as if they had been rather badly embalmed.
French television presenters appear to go in for Botox and seriously scary coloured contact lenses (especially the men).

What a great article! Thanks thatbags. More and more 'celebs' seem to be looking like mummies these days and it's not just the women. I saw Julian Clary on TV today and he looked so different and wooden. I suppose if your career/ relationship are built on your looks and you have the money for 'work' then you do it, but the effect is often quite grotesque.

Modern society and the media tell us that being young is everything. That's why celebrities feel they have to chase the youthful look. It's ok the ignore older people as they have no value. They're not revered for their wealth of experience and knowledge. A lot of people simply see them as a drain on the NHS and benefits system. Even those who continue to work are accused of causing unemployment to younger people as they 'block' a job by refusing to retire.

Great article bags, many thanks.

Glad you liked it. I loved his irreverent and humorous approach.

I thought it was great - as I tell everyone (and of course it is not a brilliantly new thing to say). I have worked hard all my life for these lines and wrinkles, lots of them are caused by laughter and smiles, some by tears and sorrow, but all of them are mine, and tell of a life lived long and in the main happily.

Great article!

Great post PRINTMISS

Wonderfully written.

PRINTMISS

It was a witty article, if a tad cruel.

I agree entirely with what he says though I think it is easier for men. He's over 70 and still very attractive.

The only thing I didn't like about the way the article was written was when he insisted on addressing me/us as 'reader'. I'm sure someone did that before!

I think it's the demands of fashion and the demands of some parts of society for women to look beautiful in a certain youthful way that are cruel. The article is just realistic.

Realistic about how ridiculous those demands are, I mean.

Good article, but it could apply to men too!
I know he was only acting, in a film, but the scene where Dirk Bogarde's character is persuaded to regain his youthful looks is particularly poignant (Death in Venice) and should dissuade both men and women from making themselves look more like 'Spitting Image' puppets.

Well yes, but...... HJ was unkindly observing one woman whom he assumed to have had cosmetic surgery, and who apparently had a less than optimal outcome. He also had a little dig, in passing, at people who exercise strenuously, presumably to improve or strengthen their bodies, as opposed to ambling along the Promenade des Anglais.

Who is he, or we, to judge this woman or any woman?

I wonder how HJ would feel if his face was disfigured by trauma or cancer? Would he not want to have surgery to restore his features with the best possible outcome?
Essentially, there is no difference - there is a powerful urge within most people to make their appearance conform to their own image of themselves.

Whether that's covering themselves with tattoos, or multiple facial piercings, it's really not for other people to speculate where the pressure to conform to this image has come from, or to judge people on that basis.

Just saying!

I agree with you janeainsworth. There was a hint of unpleasantness in the way he described the woman (though I suspect she was apocryphal). It has been said that he has a misogynistic attitude to women but I don't know enough about him to have an opinion on that.

He has been married three times and admits to having had many affairs with his students in the past so maybe I'm not too keen to take his advice on how gracefully I should age .

Janeain. I understand your view about HJ being judgemental, yet would disagree that having plastic surgery following trauma/cancer is essentially the same as willingly choosing to do so.

Plastic surgery has developed wonderfully over the years, and I admire the skill and dedication it takes to transform lives.

I see the need to have bigger boobs, sexier lips, more youthful skin and the attempts to hold back the natural ageing process through plastics as quite a different matter.

Ffinn
The patient who needs facial reconstruction because of cancer or trauma has basically the same problem as someone who has plastic surgery to combat the ageing process - they are unhappy with their appearance.

I don't see them as separate matters - they are part of a spectrum of necessity. We may think a woman who has plastic cosmetic surgery deluded, but her problem is real. What you or I may consider unnecessary intervention will not be considered in the same way by someone who is dreadfully unhappy with their appearance. Whether HJ had no way of knowing the woman's(if she was real or a figment of his imagination doesn't really matter) state of mind before or after her surgery and no right to judge her.

I do dislike the pressure that some women, particularly young ones, seem to be under to conform to imposed standards, but as one who dyes my hair and applies various creams in a probably vain attempt to slow down the appearance of wrinkles, I wonder where you draw the line of what is acceptable and what is not - surely it's an individual decision for each woman?
Now I've thought about it properly, I'm just off to 'unlike' the article on Facebook

Sorry a superfluous 'whether' before HJ

We have all seen people like the ones Jacobson describes, but his attitude is misogynistic verging on misanthropic. And if this is his customary literary style, I am glad I have never got round to reading his books

I think we draw the line where something looks ridiculous. Who decides what looks ridiculous? We all do, all the time. We all make judgments based on appearances. Sometimes we make wrong judgments this way but in a general way it's a useful and necessary skill. Why do I think that?—because it's the same skill that we use in face recognition for, as the name suggests, recognising people whom we know.

I use skin cream too, not to prevent wrinkles, because I don't believe anything does that, but because the skin on my face feels dry (tight) after I've washed it (using water only). Likewise I moisturise my hands not to prevent wrinkles (I've always liked wrinkled hands; used to gaze at them when I was a kid) but because my hands get chapped very easily. So my beautification, such as it is, is for comfort.

I suppose one could extend that from physical comfort to psychological comfort in which case janea has a point about where to draw the line. However, I think this is just a humorous piss-take about excess caused by the demands of fashion so I don't think it's cruel or misogynistic.

Bags The NHS recognises the importance of psychological well-being with respect to personal appearance, in its provision of various things from orthodontics to reconstruction after mastectomy.

Whether something is provided or not is a joint decision between the patient and the clinician, bearing in mind the biological and financial costs versus the perceived benefits and how satisfactory the outcome is likely to be.

HD may have intended his article as a humorous piss-take, but if you scratch beneath the surface, this is a complex subject. I personally think that anyone who resorts to facelifts is probably rather insecure -and HD was (perhaps unintentionally) quite cruel.

I think he was pondering on why so many women are unhappy about their appearance and feel they have to undergo unpleasant and sometimes very painful procedures.

At one time (not quite so often now) there were several TV programmes where people had complete "make overs" - face lifts, eye lifts, nose jobs, dental work, etc., etc. It seemed to me to be normalising behaviour which, in my view, is really not quite normal but which, of course, makes a lot of money for cosmetic surgeons. Some people (and increasing numbers of young people and men) seem to eventually become almost "addicted" to these procedures. I think it's very sad.

I agree with your point, jane, but eloethan's point that people, especially women, are made to feel bad about their looks is the real one, I feel. There is something rotten at the heart of a society that puts SO much importance on appearance and which doesn't appear to value ordinary, plain, healthy looks. As far as I'm concerned those are the looks that are really beautiful, wrinkles and slight imperfections included. We do not have to be perfect!!!!! and there shouldn't be so much pressure for us to try to be perfect.