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  #1   ^
Old Thu, Jan-28-10, 03:05
Demi's Avatar
Demi Demi is offline
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Default Quintastic: 50 is the new 30

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From The Telegraph
London, UK
28 January, 2010


Quintastic: 50 is the new 30

2010 is the year of the Quintastics, the women who have discovered that turning 50 brings with it a ferocious second wind.


It's half-time for today's 50-year-olds. They've had children, friends, lovers, husbands and divorces; they've had bosses, psychiatrists, cats, dogs and headaches aplenty. But somehow they forgot to get old. Smart and forward-looking – despite having more yesterdays than tomorrows – they're celebrating what Picasso called "the autumn of a woman's life." Because 2010 is the year of the Quintastics, the women who have discovered that after half-time comes a ferocious second wind.

"We're welcoming an era in which 50 is the new 34," says Emma Soames, editor-at-large of Saga Magazine. Having just turned 60 herself, and happily so, she looks at women a decade younger than herself with a mixture of pride, pleasure and relief. "This new 2010 generation can look forward to another 30 years of active life, while the generation born a hundred years ago were within a few years of the end of theirs at 50. They don't feel their age."

Helen Mirren, by contrast, admitted earlier this week to insecurities about her looks, beautiful though she is. The 64-year-old actress said she dreaded looking in the mirror - but that the pressure to look better, or even to have plastic surgery, came from within. "You go, 'I don't want to look at the face any more,' and I understand that, absolutely. I think people should be allowed to do whatever they want to make themselves feel happy."

For today's Quintastics, that means being yourself and resisting the surgeon's knife. This year, in the region of 836,000 Britons will turn 50, rising to 868,000 in 2011. "Women over 50 already form one of the largest groups in the population structure of the Western world," explains Germaine Greer. "As long as they like themselves, they will not be an oppressed minority. But, in order to like themselves, they must reject trivialisation by others of who and what they are."

And that trivialisation may come in a variety of different guises, from their bosses, husbands and boyfriends seeking to trade them in for younger models to the man or woman on the street, for whom many over 50s claim they cease to exist. "When I was a child," says last year's Booker Prize winner, Hilary Mantel (57), "no one supposed that women over 50 were invisible. On the contrary, at 50-plus, these women ran the world and they knew it – they were unyielding, undaunted and savagely unimpressed by anything the world could do to them." Thankfully, a new generation of Quintastics – the actresses, business women, chefs, TV personalities and writers redefining 50 – are there to provide guidance – or in some cases warning …

THE INVERTED ADOLESCENTS: Sharon Stone (51), Madonna (50), Carol Vorderman (50 this year), President Sarkozy's ex-wife, Cecelia Attias (52) and Kim Cattrall (53).

Late bloomers, this lot have become more attractive and successful as the years go on – which has the unfortunate side effect of making them reluctant to leave the party while it's still in full swing. La Stone was unremarkable until her mid-30s, when her acting career exploded and she posed nude in Playboy. Having appeared topless on the cover of Paris Match earlier this year, she is, this month, one of the oldest women to grace the cover of Tatler – which may explain why she has been airbrushed into looking like actress Diana Kruger. "I'm happy with the person I am now," she tells us, "with this 51-year-old person. I think 40 to 60 is where it all comes together for women. At this age, you have thoughtfulness and dignity and spiritual elegance… I have had zero, nothing, done to myself: no lifting, no Botox, no injectables." What a shame, then, that those click-happy picture editors have enhanced the life out of her. On the dark side of the Inverted Adolescent category is Madonna, who this week announced her desire to try for another child with 21-year-old boyfriend Jesus Luz. Madge is everything non-celebrity Quintastics should avoid. A "cougar" contrary to the myth propagated by these older women on the "hunt" for young blood, is not a compliment; neither is a "swoftie" (single women over 50 living it up in nightclubs and tweeting about their experiences on the internet.)

OUR EXPERT SAYS: "A grown woman should not have to masquerade as a girl in order to remain in the land of the living." Germaine Greer.

THE PROFESSIONALS: Condolezza Rice (55), Meryl Streep (has just turned 60), Julianne Moore (turns 50 this year), Lionel Shriver (52).

By refusing, from the start, to devote all their energies to their looks, channelling them instead into being respected for what they do, these Quintastics have achieved enduring success. "Meryl Streep is working so much," says Stone, "because she looks like a woman we can all relate to." So does Harriet Harman (59) – but that doesn't make her Quintastic. A rare confidence in their own abilities and a pragmatic optimism is what sets these women apart. It is also the reason why they have not, like so many in the category above, resorted to cosmetic help. "Is my life close to my ideal?" asks writer Lionel Shriver. "Totally. If I could live my life again, would I change almost nothing – besides a few bad orders in restaurants. How could this be, for a crone of 52? Because 50 is 50, full stop. And the 50s are fab."

OUR EXPERT SAYS: "Nature gives you the face you have at 20. Life shapes the face you have at 30. But at 50 you get the face you deserve." Coco Chanel.

THE KOOKS: Tilda Swinton (who turns 50 this year), Ruby Wax (56)

Take yourself out of the race by becoming truly weird – or eccentric as this lot may prefer to be described. Learn how to work a tasselled scarf, Vivienne Westwood jackets and raging red lipstick, then get yourself an obscure hobby or two. Wax gave up telly before it gave up on her – not so much an act of pessimism as defiance: "You don't see many women on TV in their 50s. My motive for moving on was that you'd better have a job until you're old. So you should get another interest."

OUR EXPERT SAYS: "I am not a has-been. I am a will be." Lauren Bacall.

THE ENIGMAS: Ines de la Fressange (53), Isabelle Adjani (53), Carole Bouquet (52), Michelle Pfeiffer (51) and Kristin Scott Thomas, who joins the clan this May.

By refusing to allude to their age (all except Pfeiffer, who said that "If you think hitting 40 is liberating, wait until you hit 50") or events in their personal lives, these women have elevated themselves to an ethereal plane. Fine genes, sheer black polo necks, discreet jewellery and cosmetic help of the so-good-you-don't-know-it's-there variety characterises The Enigmas, as does a tendency to dabble in cerebral extra-curricular pursuits.

OUR EXPERT SAYS: "People don't know very much about me. They do not know what really goes on in my private life. That's important." Catherine Deneuve

THE ACTION WOMEN: Sigourney Weaver (59), Jerry Hall (53), Amanda Redman (52)

Almost half of British women will learn a new skill when they reach 50, taking up a foreign language, cooking or even salsa dancing. Weaver's still playing the action heroine in Avatar, while Hall, who started a stage career and writing poetry in the past five years, said recently: "A lot happens at 50 – the best thing being that you just don't care any more."

OUR EXPERT SAYS: "Every man has every season while a woman only has the right to spring. That disgusts me." Jane Fonda

THE HUMORISTS: Emma Thompson (50), Jennifer Saunders (51), Lorraine Kelly (50)

The 600,000 "older" females in Britain (including spinsters, widows or divorcees) have never been happier, according to recent studies. These women quash their insecurities with humour – never trying to hide their laughter lines.

OUR EXPERT SAYS: "By the time we hit 50, we have learnt our hardest lessons. We have found out that only a few things are really important. We have learnt to take life seriously, but never ourselves." Marie Dressler

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyl...the-new-30.html
I love it! The next time someone asks my age, I'll just smile and say I'm Quintastic!
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  #2   ^
Old Thu, Jan-28-10, 03:54
amandawald amandawald is offline
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Default

I love this article, too, apart from the bit about "50 being the new 34".

I don't want to be 34 again!!! That was when I had a new baby, a fairly new husband (who I am still happily together with, thank goodness!), financial insecurity and was just finding my way as a new mum. It was a pretty stressful time and I felt pretty insecure and even depressed sometimes.

Now my kids are heading for the ages of 10 and 13; I can see that we've done a good job with them so far, which boosts my confidence and self-esteem. My husband got himself a teaching job with life tenure; we have our own house and have found a lovely village to call home.

Why is the implication always that it is actually somehow better to be younger than you are? The older I get, the more content I have become, and the less I want to be younger than I am!!!

amanda
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  #3   ^
Old Fri, Nov-12-10, 06:18
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betsywcnm betsywcnm is offline
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What perfect timing, I just turned 50 and with some discouragement I must admit, but this article is very uplifting! I'm in a divorce and looking at a future that is completely open to all possibilities....I love these perspectives, thank you for posting!
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Old Thu, Nov-18-10, 10:43
primerib primerib is offline
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I am 56, and Quintastic! I LOVE this age! So many things are so much easier, and I'm calmer and more self-assured.
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  #5   ^
Old Sat, Feb-11-12, 18:00
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MishaBelle MishaBelle is offline
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Great article!

I turned 49 a few months ago, and I realized that if 50 is the new 30... I was 29 again!!!

Yippee!!
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