Attitudes to Ageing in 2009

I am sitting at a salon, waiting for my hairdresser to start braiding my hair. A well-groomed man who I guess is about 40 years old walks in. I assume that he is here for a professional hair cut. My mind is occupied by a glossy magazine that I am perusing. I look up about 15 minutes later to find a barber applying jet black hair dye to his short crop of hair. What? I guess I was not expecting to see this! Why? Because in my part of the world, hair dyeing is associated with women and not men. No big deal. But then something else happens.

A woman clad in sports clothing walks in. Her hair is grey. I think quietly, "This woman looks very graceful. She looks beautiful perhaps because her inner beauty is shining through because she is not letting her greying hair define who she is". Like you I am expecting her to ask for a hair-dyeing service. Like you I am very wrong! She actually asks for a hair cut! I cannot believe what is unfolding before my eyes because this woman who is sitting next to the man is making the man feel very uncomfortable. I notice a few other "customers" at the salon staring at the man, knowingly.

The woman leaves about 20 minutes later in the company of an elderly male who I think is her spouse. I also notice that the male spouse also has some grey hair but his crop is not half as grey as the woman's. But that does not seem to bother the man. When the man who was dying his hair is ready to leave, he does so in a dash! I wonder why he is so uneasy. I find it "funny" though that the dyed hair looks "out of place" because this man now has hair that is darker in colour that that of a new born Black or Asian baby.

It seems that the association of age with lack of employment and other opportunities, even prejudices, makes people reject rather than embrace their ageing bodies. Why can't we all be proud of who we are becoming?