Attractiveness

[DEEDEE2]

O.k. to me a person can be gorgeous or handsome or attractive without being pretty or young. Now am I weird? The reason I ask is because everytime I'm talking to someone about someone older or that isn't that attractive physically yet I think they are attractive I get the same answers:

I was talking to a male friend about Lynda Carter and I mentioned that I thought she was very beautiful still and he said, "She's old! But she was hot when she played Wonder Woman." The female with us said, " Yeah she still looks o.k. but I bet she works at it!" I'm sorry but who doesn't work at it? I bathe, pluck the eyebrows, comb and style the hair, workout, put on make up sometimes and so on.

I even said on a message board that I thought Cathe's STS cardio make up made her look gorgeous then someone chimes up and says they never found her pretty. I wasn't talking about her being pretty or not being pretty, I was talking about her looking gorgeous in that dramatic makeup.

I was looking at what I though was a gorgeous picture of Kathy Smith and my friend, goes "Damn she's old!" I was "So what! She is gorgeous!" Same thing happened with a recent photo of Jane Fonda...

When I went to see "Wolfman" with some friends, I mentioned how hot I thought Benicio Del Toro is and they looked at me in horror because he is not a good looking man nor does he have a great body..

Funny when I mention what an awesome hottie Jack Lalanne is, all I get are comment about how great he is, I've never once had anyone say "But he's old!"

And the one that really get's me is Johnny Depp. I hear so many people say how good he looks and they always end it with "...and he looks so young, I would never believe he was in his 40's." I'm thinking, really, he looks every bit his 40+ years to me. Very good looking, but he look past 40 to me. Can't someone look over 40 and still be hot?

It seems for some people they just can't put age and attractiveness together. I know different things attract different people (for me nothing is more attractive than a man that moves well...which is probably why I am so into martial artist) but it just blows my mind how many people I run into that think if you are past a certain age or if you look past a certain age you can't possibly be attractive.

Just thinking out loud people.

 

[Jane A]

To me, attractiveness is all about the whole picture, inside and out. Age can either be a plus or a minus, depending on the attitude that goes along with it.

So I agree, Jane Fonda, Kathy Smith, Jack LaLanne -- all still happening.

 

[Stebby]

I am totally with you, DeeDee. To me, attractiveness has very little to do with someone's looks or age, and everything to do with their self confidence, intelligence, sense of humour and "what they've done with what they've got". My 79-year-old mom is one of the most attractive women I can think of - it is because she is smart, fair, kind and a great problem solver who takes charge. These things give her charisma and when she speaks, people turn to listen.

I agree that Jane Fonda, Lynda Carter and Kathy Smith are very attractive. So is Brooke Shields (again, even though she looks her age). I can think of several older female celebrities (won't name any here) who are physically pretty, but they don't seem to have any strength of character so to me they aren't that attractive. If someone (male or female) has had a lot of work done on their face, that diminishes their attractiveness to me also.

Stebby

 

[DEEDEE2]

Thanks guys, at least is isn't just me that looks past physical attractiveness. I remember years ago when I was a teen and I was watching 'Die Hard' and I kept thinking how hot Alexander Godenov was...and he was NOT a good looking man but boy for some reason he was really attractive to me. It wasn't until after he passed away that I found out he was into ballet and then it hit me...no wonder I thought he was so hot, he handled the actiion scenes with such grace and beauty while all the other guys running around looked slow and clumsy.

 

[cataddict]

I'm with you too, DeeDee (and on Benicio Del Toro too---I think he is very very hot). The same kind of comments are made about Demi Moore and many other celebs who are still beautiful/handsome and yet are over 35. The "she/he looks good for her age" comment as if somehow one day a person wakes up old, ugly and no longer useful. I hate the expression "well preserved" particularly---what are older people, jars of jam? I find a lot of attractiveness in the more relaxed look that experience of years gives a person and that is far beyond the superficial exterior.

 

[Zozo]

To me, beauty is in the eyes. And the eyes never age, so age really doesn't matter. Having said that, attractiveness, to me, declines if the person looks like they've been throgh a lot. That doesn't mean it is less if they are old, but if they are haggered. For example, with someone who has a hard life, I think, you can see that in their features. Other people look gorgeous at 90



However, a truly beautiful person is someone with inner beauty.. and I think that's why the eyes are so special.. the windows to the inner person

 

[DEEDEE2]

I'm with you too, DeeDee (and on Benicio Del Toro too---I think he is very very hot). The same kind of comments are made about Demi Moore and many other celebs who are still beautiful/handsome and yet are over 35. The "she/he looks good for her age" comment as if somehow one day a person wakes up old, ugly and no longer useful. I hate the expression "well preserved" particularly---what are older people, jars of jam? I find a lot of attractiveness in the more relaxed look that experience of years gives a person and that is far beyond the superficial exterior.

"Looks good for their age." I'm with you on hating that one! People are always surprised when they find out I'm over 40. They always say, "You could pass for 28! (like that is some kind of age limit for youth) You should tell people you are younger." I reply, "Why? It won't make me any younger, just a liar." They usually look away embarrassed.

You know, I look at the photo's of Jane Fonda today and yes I see the frosted hair, the wrinkles and that gorgeous smile that says, "Been there done that, but feel free to take your best shot!" and to me she is simply beautiful! But yes I do get we all have our own definitions of what is attractive.

 

[Jane A]

To me, beauty is in the eyes. And the eyes never age, so age really doesn't matter. Having said that, attractiveness, to me, declines if the person looks like they've been throgh a lot. That doesn't mean it is less if they are old, but if they are haggered. For example, with someone who has a hard life, I think, you can see that in their features. Other people look gorgeous at 90



However, a truly beautiful person is someone with inner beauty.. and I think that's why the eyes are so special.. the windows to the inner person

You are so right! I hate it when people have plastic surgery to their eyes. It's like you're talking to a stranger.

 

[DEEDEE2]

The "she/he looks good for her age" comment as if somehow one day a person wakes up old, ugly and no longer useful.

You know that is so true, in all those examples I gave, the people responding, said they were old as if they were no longer useful! I didn't realize that until your comment. If the experiences of life that older folks have isn't useful, I sure as heck don't know what is!