market issues
Why is it that the minute you acquire a few wrinkles you seem to become invisible?
As the owner of a full set of crow’s feet, plus a pair of matching eye bags and some decidedly wobbly bits, I have noticed that no-one is noticing me any more. I don’t mean noticing in the sense that I’m looking for wolf whistles, a ‘hello darlin’ or an admiring glance from the postman. No. What I mean is that I seem to have become invisible when doing even the most basic things, like being on a zebra crossing, buying things in a shop, or getting drinks from a bar.
This is hugely irritating as a) I don’t want to be run over, b) I sometimes need to buy things and, c) I’d like to get some drinks, thanks very much.
Part of this may be addressed by the acquisition of a high visibility vest, or a crash diet and some major cosmetic surgery. But I’m a bit scared of needles, I don’t look great in fluorescent and I like cakes.
The bad news seems to be that this cloak of invisibility just gets larger as we get older.
Past 50? Get ready to be ignored by employers. Past 60? Get ready to be ignored by all but the most innovative companies and the odd equity release company. Past 70? I’m sorry? Was someone saying something? I didn’t see you there.
Anyway. You get the point.
As a culture, we appear to have become so youth obsessed that we’ve forgotten that it’s actually normal to get older.
“I am a 61 year old baby boomer,” writes one blogger in an anonymous posting on Marketing Week’s website. “To be frank the media in this country behaves as if I have no brain, am ugly and fat, unhealthy, not interested in fashion or IT, none of which is true. My 83 year old mother has just begun an advanced IT course have done very well in her first year. The women in my family all live into their 90s and beyond. I am very tired of not seeing women like me reading the news, interrogating politicians or bankers. There are 9 million women in this country over 50 and except for Helen Mirren, Joanna Lumley and Her Majesty the Queen we are invisible and worthless. Why would anyone ignore a such a huge market?”
A good point and well made. Time to lift the invisibility cloak and see that age is actually all the rage.
Visibly Invisible
Pippa Strutt, 25 May 2010Why is it that the minute you acquire a few wrinkles you seem to become invisible?
As the owner of a full set of crow’s feet, plus a pair of matching eye bags and some decidedly wobbly bits, I have noticed that no-one is noticing me any more. I don’t mean noticing in the sense that I’m looking for wolf whistles, a ‘hello darlin’ or an admiring glance from the postman. No. What I mean is that I seem to have become invisible when doing even the most basic things, like being on a zebra crossing, buying things in a shop, or getting drinks from a bar.
This is hugely irritating as a) I don’t want to be run over, b) I sometimes need to buy things and, c) I’d like to get some drinks, thanks very much.
Part of this may be addressed by the acquisition of a high visibility vest, or a crash diet and some major cosmetic surgery. But I’m a bit scared of needles, I don’t look great in fluorescent and I like cakes.
The bad news seems to be that this cloak of invisibility just gets larger as we get older.
Past 50? Get ready to be ignored by employers. Past 60? Get ready to be ignored by all but the most innovative companies and the odd equity release company. Past 70? I’m sorry? Was someone saying something? I didn’t see you there.
Anyway. You get the point.
As a culture, we appear to have become so youth obsessed that we’ve forgotten that it’s actually normal to get older.
“I am a 61 year old baby boomer,” writes one blogger in an anonymous posting on Marketing Week’s website. “To be frank the media in this country behaves as if I have no brain, am ugly and fat, unhealthy, not interested in fashion or IT, none of which is true. My 83 year old mother has just begun an advanced IT course have done very well in her first year. The women in my family all live into their 90s and beyond. I am very tired of not seeing women like me reading the news, interrogating politicians or bankers. There are 9 million women in this country over 50 and except for Helen Mirren, Joanna Lumley and Her Majesty the Queen we are invisible and worthless. Why would anyone ignore a such a huge market?”
A good point and well made. Time to lift the invisibility cloak and see that age is actually all the rage.
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