When I got another year over 40 this past week I reposted my favorite article about Helen Mirren being voted 'Body of the Year' ,beating out celebs like Jennifer Lopez and Pippa Middleton at 66. I titled the post " 40 and getting better all the time". This title and the birthday wishes sent by all my 40 and fabulous twitter friends, brought up an interesting topic "is 40 the new 20?" Men and Women in this age are living full and active like they did in their 20s. Just look at pro athletes and actresses and you can see that we are still doing what was once something only much younger people do. My fabulous Twitter friend John D. Boyle suggested that I create a list explaining why 40 is the new 20 so here it is.
1. People in their 40s are now getting married in their 40s, not in their not 20s, like in the days of our parents.
2. People are having children in their 40's. Thanks to modern medicine, our biological clocks don't start alarming at 29 anymore. There is no longer anything unusual about a 40-year-old having their first child and other people no longer assume it's their grandchild.
3. Unfortunately, thanks to our economy, many of our 401ks look like that of a 20-year-old. So we are thinking about the longevity of our careers and sometimes starting a new one. We know retirement is many years away.
4. We now date like 20-year-olds. The over 40 crowd are joining dating sites like never before. I'm in the online dating industry and have seen a rise in that age bracket steadily over the past 8 years. We are the fastest rising group of people contracting STDs too. Not proud of that one but sounds like a 20-year-old to me.
5. We now date like 20-year-olds. The over 40 crowd are joining dating sites like never before. I'm in the Online Dating Industry and have seen a rise in that age bracket over the past 8 years. We are the fastest rising group of people contracting STDs too. Not proud of that one but sounds like a 20-year-old to me.
6. We date people in their 20s now and no one even raises an eyebrow. Shocking in days of old but not anymore. This was always common for Men in their 40s but now it's not unheard of for a woman in her forties to date a 20 something. In fact, many men in their 20s are very interested in dating women over 40. The first time someone that age showed interest in me I was appalled and insulted. I have children that age so people in their 20s are children to me. Now, I just politely decline and smile and think, hey, I still got it!
7. Hollywood once only used women over 40 to play matronly roles but that no longer holds true. The sexy leading lady is often over 40 and still drawing crowds at the box office. Look at Jennifer Anniston and Haley Berry, do they look like old-maids to you? Men have always had that advantage in Hollywood but now women are enjoying longer careers in entertainment too.
8. Again because of our economy, many people in their 40s are going back to college to start new careers or fluffing up that résumé after being let go due to down sizing. So for many 40 somethings it's off to college like 20 year olds.
9. Since many 40 somethings are getting married and becoming parents for the first time, you guessed it, 40 somethings are buying their first home. Not only are they buying first homes but they are taking out 30 year mortgages too.
10. 40 something are still rocking like a 20 year olds of the past. Sheryl Crow, 42 is still looking great and rocking her fans. According to John D. Boyle, he and his band are back together and rocking hard. When he has a gig near me I'm going! Oh yes, we are still cool! My twenty-something daughter told me so last week and I choose to believe her.
11. Due again to the economy, many 40 something are having to move back home with mom and dad or borrow money from them like a 20 somethings sometimes do. Not me yet, but I was close a time or two.
12. We still go out and party like 20 somethings do. 42 year old blogger AmericanCurvyGirl and I still go out club hopping on occasion. We laugh,drink, and dance the night away just like we did in our 20's. This just wasn't done in the days of our parents.
There are lots of reasons that 40 is now the new 20. We know how to take better care of our bodies and minds these days and our economy has turned our lives upside down. With all these changes in modern living 40 somethings are a lot like 20 somethings from decades past.
