Am I relevant?
Do you feel relevant?
Sometimes it seems to be a bit of an uphill struggle to convince myself that I am relevant. Partly due to my own insecurities, but also the constant rhetoric that comes from society, the media, fashion and beauty brands and I hate to say it the youth, that don’t have any hesitation in reminding me day after day after day, that I’m getting older and that means irrelevant.
To be absolutely honest I’m tired.
Tired of feeling like the older I get, the more insignificant I become. I’m tired of fighting the ageism battle over and over again, without ever seeming to get anywhere with it. Without seeing that anything is really changing.
I think I find it most upsetting when I read younger women perpetuating the ageist narrative. I feel sometimes they forget that they too will become ‘irrelevant’ when they hit 40 and beyond. The fact that there are women out there like me that are really fighting ageism to help benefit the youth when they reach our age, is frankly hurtful.
This blog came from an article I read this week in Kinfolk magazine. It was about a young German editor who at the age of 13 started her first magazine and was the youngest ever editor. Now at 21 she has gone on to edit various other publications and I was intrigued by her drive and determination. An obviously incredibly talented woman who is making waves within the industry.
I read on with admiration until I got to one particular quote which left me really saddened and questioning her views.
“It feels like in fashion, people hold onto their positions for way longer than is needed. Look at Anna Wintour at Vogue. She is, in my opinion, completely irrelevant, steering the publication in a way which is fatal. Just knowing when to stop is important”
In context she was saying how her own magazine has a manifesto to ‘redeem fashion journalism’ as she feels magazines are ‘devoid of cultural and institutional critique’ and while I wholeheartedly agree that publications are often dictated by advertising, I can’t help but wonder about her reasoning behind the quote.
Yes, Anna Wintour has been provocative and controversial but personally I feel Vogue has continued to evolve, showcasing new and exciting brands, creating groundbreaking editorial shoots and remains (to me anyway) inspiring.
She is a hard nosed business woman, so why should she stop?
She’s driven sales, given space to compelling contributors and new designers and continues to set trends. What is it that makes this 21 year old editor feel like she needs to stop?
It seems that once we get to a particular age, women (not men) have to fight for their careers or be pushed out, and the disappointing thing about it is that it’s often (younger) women doing the pushing. And this is what I find the most frustrating time and time again. We hear so much about ‘women supporting women’, but when push comes to shove, I don’t see many under 30’s fighting for the older generation.
At the end of the day, it seems we do become irrelevant to the young. Will it ever change?
I remain hopeful.
Anna x
