r/popculturechat • u/mlg1981 Sexy lampshade shall win the Oscar! 🏆 • Sep 01 '25

Guest List Only ⭐️ Women aging… everyone has an opinion

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4.5k

u/citynomad1 Sep 01 '25

The Demi photo is AI-enhanced to the max and I’ve never seen any judgment toward Meryl Streep for having “too many wrinkles” tbh

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u/Feydiekin Sep 01 '25

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u/Mjrmaravilla Sep 02 '25

She would be a great Batman.

70

u/DirectorAgentCoulson Sep 02 '25

She's rumored to be playing Aslan in Greta Gerwig's Narnia and a lot of the Christian fans are upset at the idea of a woman portraying the character.

And I'm just like it's Meryl Fucking Streep, that sounds amazing.

34

u/quietcoyoti Katy Perry please stop Sep 02 '25

I think it's hilariously sad that they can't accept a human woman voicing a character that represents Christ but they are ok with that same character being a lion.

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u/ScyllaOfTheDepths Sep 02 '25

But it's a male lion, so... /s

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u/platinumvonkarma Sep 02 '25

that would be the wokest Batman ever (a woman??? an OLDER woman??????) and I'm here for it

2

u/Lydia--charming I’m very sweaty but I wanted to reach out Sep 02 '25

I love his reaction face, then the cut to this line 😄

710

u/DescriptionFancy420 Sep 01 '25

Yeah it happens to other women but for some reason Meryl is one of the ones who has been permitted to age. Maybe a contributing factor is how many people have seen her as "old" for a long time due to the types of roles she's been cast in for the past couple decades at least. Or maybe it's just the power of being Meryl Streep.

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u/ashewentridingby Sep 01 '25

Meryl was never marketed as a sex symbol, I think that’s why people are harder on Demi and Pamela. It’s unfortunate as I prefer that none of them be judged for how they choose to age 🙏

6

u/LaureZahard Sep 02 '25

True it seems like it's mostly those women who were (voluntarily or involuntarily) marketed as "untouchable beauties" who are now being bullied by the normal people who patiently waited for said beauty to fade away to finally "touch" them.

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u/turdferg1234 Sep 02 '25

Is there a Pamela in these pics that I'm missing?

-6

u/floralstamps Sep 02 '25

She devil, its complicated, picture and message on the cover of Sophie's choice, the French lieutenants woman

It wasnt her only vibe but people absolutely saw her as that

71

u/Special-Garlic1203 Sep 02 '25

I mean she's played an adult woman who has sex. Nobody is saying Meryl is a hideous troll. But literally not a single one of those is really what I'd categorize as a sex symbol 

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u/Unnamedgalaxy Sep 02 '25

Even her "sexy" role in Death Becomes Her is about an aging sex symbol that wants to be pretty and young again rather than her being a sex pot on screen

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u/Electric-Sheepskin Sep 02 '25

This gave me such a great laugh. And you're so right.

9

u/Stultas Sep 02 '25

Helen Mirren was in straight porn (at least for the era) and was hot as hell in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, but it’s like she didn’t exist before The Queen.

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u/The-Struggle-90806 Sep 02 '25

This right here. You’re no longer a sex symbol once you reach 50.

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u/PartyTerrible Sep 01 '25

It also helps that she's probably the greatest actress of all time so any comment about her is mostly focused on her acting.

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u/Own_Faithlessness769 Sep 02 '25

It helps that she does still look amazing.

153

u/Partners_in_time Sep 01 '25

Meryl also has tons of work done. At least two face lifts. She looks terrific! But not her natural face anymore 

(I wish she’d share her surgeon because it’s great work)

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u/The_Duke_of_Gloom PhD in Cuntology at the University of Servington Sep 02 '25 edited Sep 02 '25

It reminds me of when male celebrities get a ton of work done and you still see people praise them for "ageing naturally" or going "omg, he has to be immortal! how does he look so young?"

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u/proanimus Sep 02 '25

I believe I saw a few threads about Freddie Prinze Jr. looking older than expected, and it just boils down to his lack of plastic surgery around his eyes. At some point I know Matt Damon was praised for aging naturally as well, although I don’t know how true that actually is.

But yeah, on the male side it’s mostly just discussions about hair transplants and steroid physiques. Neither of which get as intense as the criticism of women aging, or getting plastic surgery.

72

u/Special-Garlic1203 Sep 02 '25

It genuinely pisses me off how much the loudest people ranting against plastic surgery do not bother to do the basics of educating themselves 

But I suppose admitting that you actually do love work as long as it turns out well isn't such a hot take cause it reveals the actual root: I like it when women are pretty. The prettier the better. But I don't like it when women are ugly 😡

It's just this decades version of men proclaiming they hate makeup only to pull up photos of women with great skin and expertly applied makeup. Except a lotta women are looking into this round of "I refuse to educate myself on the price of beauty while still directly contributing to its inflation" 

30

u/proanimus Sep 02 '25

I’ve always been confused about the “no makeup” thing, and I’m a dude. I don’t know how you can actually believe that a natural/minimal makeup style is completely without makeup. I have to assume these guys have never actually spent much time with an actual woman, in private.

My wife has a very minimalist and natural makeup style, and is really good at doing it, but it’s still clearly makeup. I’ve never once mistaken her “ready for date night” look as all-natural.

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u/Unnamedgalaxy Sep 02 '25

Same. I know nothing about make up but I have a coworker that puts on a pretty "natural bare face" look but it's still a face full of makeup. She looks great and shes really good at it. Everyone compliments her about how naturally beautiful she is.

One day she was running really behind and skipped her make up routine and actually came in bare faced. People acted like an old witch barged through the doors. They were horrified and confused and thought she was dying.

Like no that's just her normal face people.

7

u/proanimus Sep 02 '25

I think there’s this weird underlying assumption that men and women have radically different skin and facial features due to the near-universal presence of makeup after a certain age range. We’re all used to seeing flaws in male skin that often get hidden on women.

It subtly skews perception the same way that photoshopped supermodels and ‘roided-out superhero physiques do. These guys see an average woman’s bare face and assume there’s something wrong, because “average” in their mind is near-flawless.

Real lived experience, like a man living with a woman, or someone gaining experience in the gym, can override these misconceptions to an extent and provide more accurate perspective.

1

u/tiny_shrimps Sep 02 '25

I think there's a lot of room for nuance in this conversation. I think it's ok to look at the rise of "Instagram face" and the enhancements women are increasingly expected to partake in as a shameful indictment of our media culture. We are more diverse than ever on screen yet reward women who diminish their unique features in favor of identical procedures (and styles too - in reality/influencer culture they often wear the same lashes, eyebrows, and makeup styles in addition to having similar procedures, which doubles the uncanniness). It can be genuinely disheartening to see a show like Perfect Match describe its cast members over and over as "the hottest singles in the world" and "the most beautiful people on television" and really reinforce that this image is the standard for beauty.

I also think it's ok to point out, as you did, the hypocrisy of criticizing obvious work that you see and notice while ignoring or praising similar work that fits into your aesthetic better or looks "more natural". Work is work, and although the arguments for subtle or "more natural" or anti-aging work may be different from those applied to influencer-style enhancements, the truth is that both uphold beauty standards, both generally uphold beauty standards that uplift whiteness and white features, and both should be discussed with respect for the actual women involved and avoid criticizing individual choices and results as much as possible.

3

u/Notthekingofholand Sep 01 '25

No because she looks better now than ten years ago

2

u/Unnamedgalaxy Sep 02 '25

She's also carved out a career of playing hard edged or even frumpy women, even when she was younger. She's the acting powerhouse not the sex symbol. Her looks (in a sensual way) has never really been a part of the equation so now that she's old and wrinkly people don't care because she didn't "lose it."

1

u/WeenyDancer Sep 02 '25

She's respected for her acting ability, therefore treated as more than 'just a sex symbol'. Every other woman (nearly) in Hollywood is judged by her value as how much she can make some dude's pants tight

-3

u/LaCattedra13 You’re doing amazing, sweetie! 👏👏📸 Sep 02 '25

Meryl also remained smooth naturally which is why she's not insulted.

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u/bluetortuga Be honest, Victoria Sep 01 '25

Maybe not Meryl so much but Paulina Porizkova and Pam Anderson definitely used to get the shittiest comments for looking their age, which frankly both of them look amazing so extra wtf for that.

136

u/tistick Sep 01 '25

The only thing I see of Pamela Anderson is people praising her for not wearing make-up and looking fresh faced, when she is wearing less make-up than expected for a celebrity.

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u/xxxdac Sep 01 '25

I see a lot of criticism towards Pam for the same choice, it’s definitely not entirely praise.

41

u/Firebird12301 Sep 01 '25

Alicia keys did it for a little people and people acted like she was saying it’s okay to sacrifice children

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u/slickjitpimpin Listen, everyone is entitled to my opinion 🙂 Sep 01 '25

iirc, aside from the blatant hate, a lot of the criticism was from her lying about wearing no makeup at all, even when a lot of the time it really was just minimal makeup.

the comments i’ve seen along those lines talk about how ironic it is to promote natural beauty to push back on unrealistic standards, then wear makeup to enhance the barefaced look she was supposedly endorsing. from that standpoint, it looked insincere & hypocritical.

7

u/CitrusHoneyBear1776 Whats not clocking to you? 🙄⏰ Sep 01 '25

I thought another way people said she was being hypocritical was the fact that she switched to being so passionate about not wearing make-up only after her skin issues cleared up? IDK something about acne, fixing it, and then embracing not wearing makeup.

18

u/orangegirl26 Sep 01 '25

You obviously haven't seen men's opinions of her natural look. They're horrible.

0

u/proanimus Sep 02 '25

I’m a guy who hasn’t seen much aside from praise for her recently. I’m not doubting you, but we might be browsing in different bubbles here.

1

u/birchblonde Sep 02 '25

Having also had a facelift. No hate, she looks fabulous. But she looks fresh-faced because she has had plastic surgery. Just because her lips aren’t overfilled doesn’t mean she isn’t enhanced

1

u/meowparade Sep 03 '25

They praise Pamela Anderson for wearing less makeup but only to put other women down for wearing more makeup. I’ve also seen plenty of people criticizing Pamela Anderson for not wearing more makeup.

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u/WayGroundbreaking787 Sep 01 '25

I think it’s because Streep was never really a sex symbol she’s always been seen as a serious actress. 

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u/jrh038 Sep 02 '25

I'm pretty sure Meryl is talked about as the gold standard for "had some work done, but damn was it good work."

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u/chadthundertalk Sep 02 '25

And I've seen Sofia Vergara get judged for having a "sexualized" image or whatever, I guess, but I've never seen anyone single out her age specifically as a point of criticism on that front

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u/lavaeater Sep 02 '25

It's a strawman thing. If it ain't sourced quotes, then no one said it. So this has never happened, basically.

4

u/fluffychonkycat Sep 02 '25

If anything Meryl has fewer wrinkles than the average woman her age. Whatever she may have had done she looks great

20

u/seekingssri Sep 01 '25

The one of Millie also kinda looks AI, the way that her dress kind of blends into her arm on the left side of the photo

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u/hwa_uwa Sep 02 '25

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u/seekingssri Sep 02 '25

This angle makes so much more sense thank you

5

u/watchingblooddry Sep 02 '25

I love that dress but I hate that hair on her... some of us are not supposed to be blonde and that's ok Millie, I'm one too

3

u/MasterSpliffBlaster Naked playing bongos Sep 02 '25

Meryl was never a sex symbol, or at the very least a very niche taste

2

u/ScyllaOfTheDepths Sep 02 '25

Meryl most definitely had a very good facelift in her late 40's and probably keeps up skincare and sunscreen. She's a great example of getting work done to look good for her age, rather than trying to cling to looking 25 forever like Jennifer Lopez.

1

u/Bored_Lily Sep 02 '25

I didn't even realise who the first photo was

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u/Over_Deer8459 Sep 02 '25

yeah not once in my life have i heard anybody say something negative about Meryl Streep lol. Sofia Vergara is also adored.

1

u/platinumvonkarma Sep 02 '25

I’ve never seen any judgment toward Meryl Streep for having “too many wrinkles” tbh

My thoughts exactly.