Why telling a woman over 50 she "looks good for her age" can backfire
Blogger Mary Lyndon has compiled phrases best avoided when speaking to women over 50, arguing that social expectations of this age group remain out of step with reality.
Society still holds onto outdated ideas about how women over 50 should look, behave and feel, even though these assumptions often no longer match real life. Not every woman in this age group has become a grandmother, and not everyone's daily routine revolves around stereotypical caretaking tasks often associated with that stage of life.
Blogger Mary Lyndon has put together a list of remarks that are better avoided when talking to a woman over 50, noting that although such comments are usually meant as compliments, they can leave the opposite impression.
"You look good for your age"
One example highlighted is the phrase "you look good for your age." According to Lyndon, the final part of that sentence — "for your age" — is unnecessary. Unless a woman's sense of self has been completely distorted by excessive cosmetic treatments, she is well aware that she no longer looks the way she did at 19, and she does not need to be reminded of that fact.
If the intention is to pay a genuine compliment, it can simply be said outright, without adding any reference to age. That way the compliment keeps its positive meaning instead of turning into an indirect remark about a woman's age, which can cause discomfort or offense rather than the intended pleasure.
The broader point raised is that social expectations placed on women over 50 have not kept pace with how this generation's actual lifestyles and self-perception have evolved.
