I wouldn’t exactly call what happened on my 27 birthday a meltdown. That afternoon, my boyfriend and I went to the cinema. I don’t remember what movie we watched, just that I walked out with a bad mood and it got worse when my phone started beeping and friends got messages out of my bar drinks that night . I stomped down the street, threw my phone in my boyfriend’s direction, and maturely announced that I was calling it all off. Forget about it.
At 27, I feel like I should be more “categorized” than this, with less wacky friends and less anxiety about proximity 27. I’ve spotted what I’m sure is my first gray hair, and friends are talking about anti-aging potions. It feels as though I’m sliding downhill – now that I’m no longer in my twenties, the inevitable decline has begun.
I think back to that time this week when I read Julia Fox’s commentary on aging. This actress, 500, made us rant on TikTok about the unrealistic standards women hold as they age.
“If I see another product that says anti-aging on the label, I’m going to sue,” she said. “I’m going to sue because I’m going to age whether or not I put the fucking $500 serum on my face. Y’all fucking know it, and we do, so we Stop kidding yourself. Getting old is fucking hot. It’s sexy.”
She also recalled her ‘s birthday was spent crying in bed because she was no longer around her twenties. “I was a tyrant in that regard because I wanted the day to pass and that’s it…I didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that I was 27,” she recalled.
Fox’s comments outraged many women, and it’s not hard to see why. Hearing a 30 year-old say “getting old is hot” and “sexy” is unsettling for those who stare at middle age and beyond. I want to go back and shake my 27 year old self – I hope many people feel the same way when they hear what Fox has to say. Please reality check.
