No Country For Old Women: Demi Moore And Our Fear Of Aging

www.forbes.com:

Demi Moore's recent divorce from her younger husband, Ashton Kutcher, and subsequent trip to rehab for drug and alcohol addiction have been documented all too well in the tabloids. We read the headlines, and exclaim our shock and horror at Moore's "pathetic" behavior. Unable to keep her much younger man, losing the battle with Mother Nature, guilty for beginning to show her true age, Moore reportedly turned to substance abuse to keep her fledgling self-confidence afloat.

Read the whole story: www.forbes.com

Comments

[PragmaticFanatic]

02:24 AM on 02/18/2012

If you break this down to its most elemental component, Demi should never have married a guy 16 years younger than herself, especially with her insecurities about youth. The day had to come when Ashton would start cheating as she slowly withered before his eyes like a week-old flower. Sad but true.

[goldy67]

07:15 PM on 02/24/2012

Maybe SHE shouldn't have married a guy 16 yrs. younger, with her insecurities and abandonment issues. But people marry 16 yrs younger all the time. Especially guys',and people don't even find it noteworthy. It depends on the individuals. In this case you had a very insecure woman marry a very idiotic guy. It would have failed one way or another.

[ZC1968]

09:17 PM on 02/10/2012

Time waits on no man or woman. She is actually causing herself to age faster with all the drugs and worries etc. Poor Demi, as old as she is, she still does not understand life.

[zoebliss]

07:07 PM on 02/10/2012

i wonder why there is so much vitriol against her when men like hugh hefner have non stop viagra sex debauchery parties with females barely out of high school? what exactly is her crime?

[goldy67]

07:18 PM on 02/24/2012

Why is there vitriol? misogyny.
What is her crime? Being female, getting older, and having the audacity to be sexy.

Sad. Because she seems like a sweet, fragile woman who does not deserve this hate.

[roseyaire]

07:25 PM on 02/09/2012

There has to be actresses her own age who are successful and healthy and feel good about themselves. I can't recall having seen a lot of pictures of Demi with any of these contemporaries over the years, instead she seems to have hung out exclusively with younger people. Maybe women her own age could have provided her with a good example, as well as friendship, validation and support. She seems rather narcissistic and self-obsessed, and having been raised by a narcissistic mother I feel terribly sorry and concerned for her children. They didn't need a friend or a party buddy, they needed a mother.

[livingbettertherapy]

07:10 PM on 02/09/2012

Happiness can evaporate instantly if you have let someone else be responsible for your happiness. You have to be able to validate yourself, love yourself and recognize your own unique value at home or at work. Love yourself as the unique jewel that you are and you will be able to love others properly. You might also feel like the lowliest employee at work but if you consider how valuable you really are and start working like you own the business where you work, you can end up owning the business where you work. Don't ever let the negative opinions of others push you around, file you, index you, pigeonhole you or devalue you. Your life is your own, you are not a label, you are an amazing person with tremendous potential. Happiness will always come when you appreciate who you really are and what that really means.

[aqua0]

04:52 PM on 02/09/2012

Don't think it's about fear of aging as much as it is about postponing dealing with your own issues until you can't take it anymore. Jumping from one relationship to the next is never going to solve one's problems. Other people do not hold the solutions to your demons. Deal with life as it comes, not later, or after you get the house, get the man, get the $, have the baby, etc etc.

Life compounds, and when one is older, a single trigger of an event can get oneself messed up really really fast.

[Capricious Capricorn]

02:30 PM on 02/09/2012

Demi's fear of aging and her attempt to be rail thin at her age has only had the opposite effect on her appearance in my opinion. She looks older. Her face is gaunt. Her collar bone is too prominent. Older women who try to be too thin only look skeletal. 10 or 15 pounds would do wonders for her. So would a healthier lifestyle.

[Crystal Rose Love]

02:28 PM on 02/09/2012

The obsession with youth is a bit unwarranted in my opinion. Women get more beautiful and more wise with age.

[NoLinos]

08:14 AM on 02/09/2012

I don't understand the point of this article. She LOOKS great, albeit too thin. She is aging amazingly. Forbes can desperately try to declare the contrary all day long, but the photographic evidence just doesn't support that spin.

Nobody comes off a divorce with a big smile - regardless of age differences. Like most celebrity couplings, Katy Perry's marriage also failed...and she's nine years younger than Brand. In fact, in most celebrity divorces and divorces in general, the woman is younger than the man. The focus on Moore's age difference with Kutcher is a tad strange, considering those statistical norms. Maybe more common problems were to blame?

Perhaps this article has more to do with social anxieties about women maintaining & enhancing sexuality as they age? Especially considering the article is in the premier publication pushing the conservative, male ruling class agenda.

Just a stab in the dark here - but I'm guessing it'll be much harder for ugly, rich old men to keep young girlfriends faithful if icons like Demi break down traditional women's "shelf-life" aging insecurities.

A more apropos title might be 'Move over Old Guys: Demi and some really insecure men's fear of women closing the aging gap'

[KIVPossum]

01:39 AM on 02/09/2012

I tend to think Demi's mental state is responsible for her problems

[Tomtom2]

02:08 AM on 02/10/2012

You think so? From reading the article I thought it was my fault.

"Look what we have done to this woman,” I thought to myself. We can all try to wash our hands of Demi’s demise, but we are all ultimately responsible for it."

[hopein2012]

10:06 PM on 02/08/2012

i love how so many people are saying she shouldn't be this way because she has a lot of money. i know from experience that money does not solve all of life's problems. sometimes they just complicate them. yes, having money is nice but it doesn't cure all of your ailments. give the lady a break.

[certmuff]

06:25 PM on 02/08/2012

I think any person who holds their total self worth in their outward appearance already has major problems- add addiction into the mix and it is a no win situation

[aqua0]

04:53 PM on 02/09/2012

True. No mystery there.

[hb341]

06:08 PM on 02/08/2012

Competition in Hollywood is Fierce!
Not my problem.
Just saying...

[Veeckster]

05:56 PM on 02/08/2012

It's not my fault Demi Moore has zero self esteem and can't stay off drugs, ok? In her heyday she made more money than 99.9% of the planet, and was very beautiful. The fact she lacked the imagination to figure out how to make a worthwhile life out of such blessings is what should be remarkable. Enough with the pity party.

[sinn1357]

05:39 PM on 02/08/2012

yeah...you right...Demi dieted for our sins!