For Cathy, Who is Purple-3

ARGH. Damned laptop shut down AGAIN for no reason and I lost my WHOLE blog post. I HATE that. Worse yet, for some stupid reason, FireFox didn't keep the session information for the thirty five windows I had open. Argh and double argh. Let's see, where was I?

Oh yes.

I'm very fond of the poem "When I am old, I shall wear purple/with a red hat that does not become me." It reminds me of my friend Cathy, who a couple years ago decided not to turn 50. Instead, she turned "purple" and she is now "purple-3." Being orange-6 (<grin>, 36, actually, and not phased by the numbers) myself, I kind of understand her refusal to surrender not so much to age and its indignities, but to society's ideas about who and what older women are and should be.

It occurred to me last night when I was reading this article about a 64-year-old grandmother who appeared (tastefully) naked on a billboard for Dove's Real Women advertising campaign. I thought it was great until the end when she says, "age is but a number, and real beauty—at whatever age—comes from feeling young and thinking young." I know our society identifies youth with beauty to the exclusion of beauty after youth, but this quote bothers me. It endorses youth=beauty in the midst of a campaign that SAYS it means exactly the opposite. Are we really beautiful in all our sizes, shapes and ages, or is beauty, fashion, and self-esteem only for the young, the thin, the fair? Dove can say one thing, but even its models seem to think another. And if we all do, who are we really fooling?

So this morning, I was reading Crooks and Liars, and came across this video by Gogol Bordello. The band plays what they call "Gypsy Punk." And it's got the infectious, driving beat you expect from tradition gypsy music. And the lyrics are delightfully silly. The song is "Start Wearing Purple." And though I have not deciphered all the lyrics yet, it seems to be saying, "Don't be shy about looking your age. I love you and I think you are beautiful even if you aren't 20 anymore." How empowering!

And I thought of you, Cathy.