Baby Boomers and Body Image
Body image is that impression you hold of yourself: that picture you feel you present to others about what you are; what you strive for; what you represent. Baby boomers would likely already have a body image of themselves but perhaps as late middle age and old age sets in, body image must necessarily be revised to something more in keeping with the appearance and capabilities of the ageing form.
In very young people, an unhealthy body image can lead to eating disorders and issues of self esteem. In the baby boomer generation, it is the change taking place in the body that deals a series of blows to the senses and necessitates reviewing one’s image of oneself.
Some baby boomers, especially women who might have enjoyed spectacular good looks in their youth, go through a painful period of self doubt when faced with the reality that their looks no longer draw cheeky whistles from construction workers. Going into a crowded restaurant no longer draws admiring looks from male diners who might at one time have put down their knives and forks to watch and admire.
Instead, the middle aged baby boomer is faced with coming to terms with a body and face that no longer attract attention of a sexual nature: being invisible. Nature can be most cruel and leave the mind and spirit very much younger than the body they are trapped within. Body image need not be a destructive element of old age, however. Many aging baby boomer ladies and gentlemen still take a pride in their appearance and spend hours in front of a mirror perfecting their outfit and hairstyle before venturing out in public.
Men sometimes experience a different body image crisis. A small percentage of men spend their early youth and prime being not particularly attractive but gain a certain attraction in middle age that women find irresistible! These men show an outward disinterest that women also find magnetic and ignoring the man’s desire to hide behind the nearest potted palm, go straight in for the big seduction, prompting poor baby boomer late developer to run for the hills! Men who carry a latent attraction of this kind go through all manner of agonies trying to dodge their bands of admirers among middle aged widows and divorcees.
Body image is a portrayal of the person we would like to be, providing we are happy with our bodies. Those who are not happy, or who are struggling with a new body image after entering middle or old age, can have serious issues with self esteem if they do not revise their attitude and calm their expectations to a degree.
We are here to live our lives, and although it is nice to have the admiration and respect of other human beings, it is not vital to our existence to impress everyone with our looks. The person inside is always the person that counts, not the exterior shell…
