The audience isn’t very lenient on female actors like they are about male actors. Women in the entertainment industry are not allowed to age or look any less glamorous than they are expected to look. This is why Kareena Kapoor Khan has been criticized multiple times for gaining weight (despite giving birth to two children) and not looking like a 20-year-old anymore.
Addressing the ageism and body-shaming she experiences on a regular basis, Kareena Kapoor claimed that she isn’t running away from the fact that she is 42 years old and it is natural for people to grow old.
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Earlier, under a picture of Bebo, Amrita and Malaika Arora, there were hundreds of people age-shaming them. Kareena addressed this too. The Indian Express quoted her saying:
“In our society, we are still battling this (attitude). This is only natural that we grow old. And it’s fine. You are as old as you look. And we look fantastic. We are all in our 40s. The fact that the photo went viral is because people gave this maximum attention and talked about it the most. But I am never running away from the fact that I’m 42. I don’t think I felt better or looked better. Sometimes, I look at the 20-year-olds and think I don’t want to be in my 20s. I don’t want the pressure of looking good and finding success. As long as you are happy with what you do, that’s all that matters.”
We, as a society, need to stop looking at ageing as an alien concept which only happens to men and not to women. Or else, women across different careers will continue to have a shelf life. Do you agree?