When does a woman become invisible?

Actress Michelle Pfeiffer

Actress Michelle Pfeiffer

Published Feb 15, 2011

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London - If life begins at 40, you”d better hurry up and enjoy it, ladies.

For in another ten years you are likely to think all men are ignoring you.

A survey has found that eight out of ten women over the age of 50 think members of the opposite sex no longer notice them.

So while The Beatles famously lamented becoming over the hill “When I’m 64”, women in 2011 will instead be wondering: “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m... 50?”

As if that’s not bad enough, seven out of ten women also feel overlooked by the fashion industry.

On top of apparently being doomed to an existence as an unstylish frump, the survey found that three-quarters of women in their sixth decade believe they have lost their individual identity by being labelled as a “mom”. The findings of the Invisible Women study fly in the face of claims that turning 50 is “quintastic”, as represented by glamorous golden girls such as Michelle Pfeiffer and Sex And The City star Kim Cattrall.

British actress Lynda Bellingham, 62, best known for the Oxo television adverts, recently said: “Reaching 50 really does change the way you’re regarded by society.

“You suddenly find yourself being passed over by everyone - employers, men and certainly fashion designers.”

Miss Bellingham, who married third husband Michael Pattemore in 2008 and is a presenter on ITV’s Loose Women, added: “Reaching my 50s was an unsettling time. Work-wise parts were harder to come by and I felt that my romantic life was over.

“Even when I met the man who is now my husband, I assumed he wouldn’t fancy me.

“Luckily we bucked the trend and we’re a very happy couple but there is this assumption that large parts of your life are finished and you’ve become somehow invisible.

“The fashion industry, especially, seems to have overlooked us completely and it’s time they woke up to the fact that 50-plus women still want to look and feel good.”

More than half of the over-50s surveyed also felt the representation of older women in adverts was unrealistic and was often portrayed by much younger models.

Some 1,246 UK women, of which 47 percent were over 50, were surveyed for the study by online retailer isme.com. The findings echo the views of feminist Germaine Greer in her book, The Change, that sexual attractiveness, rather than experience or brainpower, remains the major key that opens the door to success.

But not everyone agrees. Emma Soames, of Saga Magazine, recently said: “We’re welcoming an era in which 50 is the new 34.

“This new 2010 generation can look forward to another 30 years of active life, while the generation born a hundred years ago were within a few years of the end of theirs at 50. They don’t feel their age.”

And Hollywood actress Miss Pfeiffer, 52, has said of turning 50: “It’s a chance to take stock and count your blessings. Honestly, I don’t feel older - and it’s better than the alternative!” - Daily Mail

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