The story of an 88 year-old Indian fathering twins is revealing. As is a 67-year-old Romanian who became the oldest mother when she gave birth to a girl. Then there is Madona who at 48 is dancing and singing live with the energy levels of a 20-year-old. And she doesn't look a day over 25. The point is that there isn't any place for obsessively keeping tab on chronological age.Old paradigm and landmarks no longer hold. For instance, 40 is no longer middle age. Notice a 40-year-old Janet Jackson who matter-of-factly poses nude on the cover of a magazine. And her body looks no different in terms of fitness and youthfulness than Britney Spears who is about half of Jackson's age and who also recently posed nude for a magazine cover. French president Chirac's possible successor Segolene Royal was snapped by a photographer in a bikini while on holiday at a sea resort. And Royal, though 53-year-old, could give Hollywood stars a run for their money as far as having a trim and cellulite-free body is concerned. People are dressing, feeling and doing things that have no correlation to their stated age. That's why an 88-year-old can dream of having more children without taking a hard look at his so-called advancing years.
Those on the cusp of retirement feel that they have the ability to work for at least another 10 to 15 years without a problem. Those having children in their 30s and 40s think nothing of it. Keeping a rigid timetable of age may have served a purpose in a different era. Now the word young can be used as easily for a 20-year-old as for a 40-year-old. Marketers have cottoned on to this change and talk about targeting those with youthful spirit rather than those who strictly fall within the golden demographic of 18 to 34. People's age now should be judged by how young they look and feel and their achievements. Madona would be hard-pressed to fit into a bunch of 48-year-olds as she has nothing in common with them. And neither does the 67-year-old new mother who probably has more in common with other new parents rather than with geriatrics. Age then should finally be no bar to the way we live, work and play.
Those on the cusp of retirement feel that they have the ability to work for at least another 10 to 15 years without a problem. Those having children in their 30s and 40s think nothing of it. Keeping a rigid timetable of age may have served a purpose in a different era. Now the word young can be used as easily for a 20-year-old as for a 40-year-old. Marketers have cottoned on to this change and talk about targeting those with youthful spirit rather than those who strictly fall within the golden demographic of 18 to 34. People's age now should be judged by how young they look and feel and their achievements. Madona would be hard-pressed to fit into a bunch of 48-year-olds as she has nothing in common with them. And neither does the 67-year-old new mother who probably has more in common with other new parents rather than with geriatrics. Age then should finally be no bar to the way we live, work and play.
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