BEYONCÉ is changing the face of 40
Beyoncé turned 40 on Sept. 4, an age women have culturally been taught to dread. Forty signals the end of youth, something women are expected to retain at all costs. But the pop culture icon sees it differently.
“I feel many aspects of that younger, less evolved Beyoncé could never (expletive) with the woman I am today,” she told Harper’s Bazaar in its September Issue.
When she was a child, Beyoncé said she dreamed. As a teenager, she hustled. In her 20s, she built a formidable career. In her 30s, she started a family. On the eve of 40, Beyoncé said all those years of digging, healing and growth have brought her to this moment. In some ways, she feels she has just begun.
“Turning 40 is a steppingstone into our authenticity. At 40, we begin to pull back the layers of societal and familial expectations, and lean closer to who we really are,” says Dr. Tricia Wolanin, a clinical psychologist, creativity coach and author of “The Fragrance of Wanderlust.”
Experts say we need a new cultural narrative around turning 40, especially for women, who face age-based discrimination years earlier than men, research shows. Beyoncé, Duchess Meghan and Britney Spears are spearheading the change, welcoming 40 with grace and power and showing it’s something that should be embraced rather than feared.
“These women are role models changing the expectations in society,” says Dr. Sharon Grossman, a clinical psychologist, success coach and author of “The 7E Solution to Burnout.” She said their fearlessness has “given women (in their 40s) permission to be proud.’ ”
Why is turning 40 stigmatized?
Women learn early that their worth is attached to their appearance. Trying to look as young as they can for as long as they can with Botox, antiwrinkle cream or anything else that may halt Father Time often is the norm.
People often equate youth with attractiveness. But why does a person’s allure supposedly fly out the window after 40 trips around the sun?
“There’s a dread of getting older because you don’t feel like you have control of how other people will accept you,” Grossman says.
Unlike tribal cultures where elders are looked up to for their wisdom, American society is plagued by ageism, which is prejudice or stereotypes based on a person’s age.