“We decided to rebel against ageism,” declares Natacha Dzikowski straight away. A fight also led by Caroline Ida and Nicole Tonnelle. Nicknamed “Silver influencers”, all three explained to 20 minutes how, through their content on social networks and their parallel activities in life, they fight against ageism and the injunctions that affect “senior” women after 50.
Taboo on aging
“There are injunctions made to women through appearance and we feel it in a more cruel way as we age,” confides to 20 minutes Natasha Dzikowski. According to Caroline Ida, these injunctions are due to the representation of women in society. Particularly through women’s magazines, where the feminine image conveyed meets the same beauty standards of “very young, white, thin” women, says Caroline Ida before continuing: “I stopped buying all these magazines because I didn’t recognize myself at all.” “Every now and then we see a cover with a senior woman, like Andie Mac Dowell for example, but they’re still celebrities. We don’t have the same life as them,” continues Natacha Dzikowski.
Frédéric Godart, sociologist, confirms that women in their fifties (and over) are poorly represented. According to him, the injunctions are stronger in women than men, with age. “Sociologically, there is a taboo on aging. There is a progressive invisibility of senior women,” he continues before deciphering: “We must extend life, but still look young.” Caroline Ida makes this observation in the cosmetics industry, where she notices that marketing puts pressure on older women. “In beauty, there are anti-aging creams, the word “anti” is negative. As if anti-aging creams were going to prevent us from aging,” laments the influencer, giving the example of the slogan “Eternal youth” for a face cream.
The impact of Silver influencers in society
According to Frédéric Godart, the role of these women in society is “extremely important”, because they are the ones who will “bring the change” and bring more visibility to senior women.
For Natacha Dzikowski, author of the book, I’m the age I want at Leduc Editions, old age should no longer rhyme with “deterioration”, because you can be old and “have a crazy figure”, remain sporty, active, etc. Considering age as a “fulfilling adventure”, this Silver influencer decided to speak out to educate women on certain subjects such as menopause for example. “In my books, I explain what happens in the body at 50. I document myself, then I do popularization and education to teach women to adapt their lifestyle to their age,” explains the activist.
Through her advice, the author aims to restore confidence in women, which is what she confides to 20 minutes : “I am moved when women thank me and tell me ‘you saved me from depression’”.
As for Caroline Ida, it is in fashion that the Silver influencer wanted to “change the codes”, with the support of her community, who consider her a “spokesperson for women over 50”. By becoming a senior model, she had in mind to “show women’s real bodies”. Something that was possible thanks to the impact of its collaboration with the lingerie brand Darjeeling. “I’m not a 36, I’m a 44. I’m 63 years old with my imperfections, my belly fat, my cellulite, my white hair. It was not won, but it was part of my mission to try to change things,” she confides to 20 minutes.
Today, she is delighted that the fashion world is “changing its tune” and showing other types of bodies and women than what we usually see at fashion shows. Profiles which, according to her, do not represent “absolutely what we see in the street”.
At 72, Nicole Tonnelle’s motto is: “There is no age to be beautiful”. The latter launched her channel twelve years ago on YouTube after noticing that there was a lack of representation and no influencers over 40 on social networks. “Even in advertisements for anti-aging creams, they show 20-year-old girls,” laments the YouTuber to our newspaper.
With the same motivation as when she started on the networks, the one who defines herself as a feminist, encourages senior women on a daily basis to always take care of themselves and to “have fun”. “I got a lot of criticism at the beginning: ‘old lady, what are you doing on the Internet?’ Now, I have very few because there are more of us,” she confides. Well beyond these few negative remarks, Nicole Tonnelle has never stopped in her quest to give women confidence, “if we don’t age, it’s because we’re dead,” she responds with retort.
Tips for freeing yourself from age-related complexes
The first advice: “Reconcile with yourself”. By this, Natacha Dzikowski means accepting that her body is changing, but while continuing to “take care of yourself”. “Aging well means doing it your own way, without obeying injunctions,” continues the author.
“From menopause, I think that there is a liberation that takes place within us and we must really take this liberation as a chance that comes to us from the universe,” says Caroline Ida. The latter recommends ignoring the gaze of others, without stopping oneself from pursuing one’s dreams: dancing, painting or putting on a miniskirt, even at age 50 or over.