The musician took to Instagram on her 47th birthday to spread a message of hope and love to other women.
Media, and Hollywood in particular, can't stand a woman aging. Women are constantly picked apart for growing old while men are often lauded and celebrated for the same. You only need to follow the career trajectory of actors to know that men don't ever seem to have a shelf life, constantly landing top roles while women are afforded only a 10-15 year peak before being moved on from leading roles.
American singer-songwriter Jewel wants women to embrace and own their age and encourage women of all ages to feel sexy. Jewel recently celebrated her 47th birthday and touched upon sexism in the showbiz industry.
She posted a picture of herself and wrote, "47 and feeling myself today. I wasn’t sure what getting older would feel like. I was never afraid of it, luckily, I’ve loved every year." She continued, "But in my business and the world, really, is not kind to aging women." Jewel added that from the time she entered the industry, she wanted to block out the noise and be deliberately kind to herself. "I made a promise to myself when I was pretty young to ‘do no harm’ to myself. To try to be kind to myself in a business notoriously ***** about women’s bodies. I was called a chubby Renee Zellweger when I came in the scene in the ’90s. But I wouldn’t let myself be bulimic or anorexic because I felt that was letting bullies win," she wrote.
Jewel said it wasn't easy, with people attacking from all sides, but slowly and surely she loved her body and accepted herself. "I had to learn to be healthy my own way and find my way to self-love. And that takes time. I never fixed my teeth or my nose because I felt like I wanted to know how to love myself no matter what," she said. "And to be thankful for the looks I do have, and not take them for granted just because I wasn’t classically perfect."
She had a very basic mantra she believed in and she has abided by it all along. "So when it came to aging, I knew where I stood on it: take care of myself. Eat well. Drink water. Rest. And bring it on!" she wrote. "My skin is changing. Gravity definitely takes its toll. But I’m surprised by how good I feel. How vital. How happy. How healthy. And yeah, I feel sexy." She urged women to make the most of life without listening to all the voices that attempted to limit their lives. "So to any young women reading this: be kind to yourself. Enjoy the hell out of your life. Sleep with who you want, because you want to. Not because you need to feel validated," she wrote.
It was only a few weeks ago that Sarah Jessica Parker was targeted by trolls over her graying hair. Not one to take criticism lying down, she fired back at them. "There's so much misogynist chatter in response to us that would never. Happen. About. A. Man," said Parker in an interview with Vogue. "'Gray hair gray hair gray hair. Does she have gray hair?' I'm sitting with Andy Cohen, and he has a full head of gray hair, and he's exquisite," she said, referring to her 2021 Met Gala date. "Why is it okay for him?" She said people just couldn't accept women aging. "It almost feels as if people don't want us to be perfectly okay with where we are, as if they almost enjoy us being pained by who we are today, whether we choose to age naturally and not look perfect, or whether you do something if that makes you feel better," she said. "I know what I look like. I have no choice. What am I going to do about it? Stop aging? Disappear?"
Singer Jewel urged younger women to eat to their heart's content and make the most of life. "Eat what you want because you want to—not because you're afraid of how it will look on you. Your worth lies in your wisdom and your joy. Don’t be bullied out of enjoying your own life! Feel the sensuous joy of being alive. And absorb every single bit of pleasure out of this life—you're worth it!" She was praised for the uplifting post.
Reference:
https://www.vogue.com/article/sarah-jessica-parker-cover-december-2021
Cover image source: Instagram/jewel
