The 5 parts of the body that most complicate women after 50

We know that injunctions linked to beauty die hard, at all levels. Age is no exception, on the contrary, women have to deal with the cult of youth: a face that is not or barely marked, a firm body, a flat stomach, toned arms, shapely legs, or a firm chest. . So many qualifiers far from reality which are not without consequences on the mental health of women who have or are preparing to celebrate their fiftieth candle. A milestone some would say, if only because it is synonymous in the collective imagination with menopause, although this stage does not occur at the same time for each woman.

Youth, a source of complexes

On the occasion of this World Day, celebrated on October 18, the parapharmaceutical site Humasana and the FLASHS agency commissioned a study from Ifop on French women and their perception of aging. We learn that French women feel more fulfilled at this period of their lives, but that they also suffer from many complexes. The survey reveals in particular that nearly nine out of ten women over 50 (89%) say they are self-conscious about the aging of at least one part of their body. A feeling that particularly concerns the stomach (75%), arms (64%), face (61%), thighs (52%) and chest (50%).

Consequently, the stomach also appears to be the body area, excluding the face, on which the majority of women would like to “act as effectively as possible” to stop, if not slow down, the effects of aging, up to 63% (compared to 50% in August 2007). Next are the arms (33% vs 21%), the neck (20% vs 27%), the thighs (14% vs 21%), and the bust (10% vs 8%). These complexes are not unrelated to certain age-related injunctions that persist in society. Nearly three in ten women surveyed (28%) say they are dissatisfied with the image given to women aged 50 and over in French society. A figure that has been increasing over the years, since they were only 17% in 2007.

And these complexes harm the mental health of those mainly concerned. More than eight in ten women (81%) say they have seen their facial skin change since their forties, including 20% ​​who believe that this has affected their morale. This is even more convincing for weight gain, since 75% say they have observed this change, including 39% who have been affected by it. Note, however, that 77% of those surveyed saw the appearance of white hair during this decade (and more) but that only 10% suffered morally from it.

Fulfilled and liberated

However, middle age is not, far from it, experienced as the period of all evils. The proof is that the majority of French women over 50 (54%) say they are more fulfilled than when they were 25, and 37% still feel as attractive as before. Only 9% of women surveyed say they are ashamed to say their age. Interestingly, more than a third of respondents (38%) consider that women become more beautiful over the years. An almost similar share (40%) to those who believe that men also become more beautiful with age, undermining certain preconceived ideas on the subject.

This fulfillment, just like this feeling of being freed from certain constraints, influences the sexuality of the main people concerned. More than four in ten respondents (41%) say that their sex life is as free and uninhibited as when they were in their twenties, and 38% even confide that it is more so. A figure which does not vary, or very little, depending on whether women are postmenopausal or not (39% vs 34% respectively).

This survey was carried out online by Ifop, from September 22 to 26, 2023, among a sample of 1,004 women, representative of the French female population aged 50 and over.