Analysis Of Susan Sontag's The Double Standard Of Aging

How can someone in 2017 understand what was going on inside the body of an aging woman in 1972? By reading Susan Sontag’s, “The Double Standard of Aging,” an individual can comprehend what the author portrays the women of her day to be, self-conscious and apparently uncomfortable with their appearance. It is true, that women are looked at, and often treated differently than men are. For example, if a woman were to wear a dress that reveals her thigh, it would be considered, by many, to be an act of sexual behavior. However, if a man were to wear an equivalent piece of clothing (for example, shorts), no one would say anything, the simple thought one would think is that it is hot outside. Most of society would not judge the man, but

Sontag’s article, she characterizes modern society today as the correct manner for how women must be represented. There is no need to look further than the closest billboard to see today’s society’s beautiful woman with her necessary quality. The demanded characteristic of women places a disadvantage to them compared to men, who are not “graded” or treated depending on their appearances. The feature that men are evaluated on are their social aspects, which they can alter. Even though women and men cannot choose their appearances naturally, surgeries and beauty products can be used. One could think that it is the same for women and men, but that is false. As Ms. Sontag writes, “in a man’s face, lines are taken to be signs of character.” But by a woman, she writes, “every wrinkle, every line, every gray hair, is a defeat.” The norm for a woman’s appearance in today’s society is illogical and can get out of

Sontag would still be concerned today. Sports has become a major part of society, and a new “sport” has been “created” for men, “pick up women.” Women are looked at as items by a myriad of men, where the craving to “get them” has not declined at all. One could think why men are constantly chasing women as a “sport.” The reason for this is that women allow for this to occur. Ms. Sontag’s worry that women welcome this upon themselves would still be correct. Ms. Sontag said, that women in her lifetime “should allow their faces to show the lives they have lived,” but her words might not have been completely understood by the women back then. By looking at a woman, one could possibly see what that woman is like. Today, some women perform horrible acts in front of cameras for money because their face “allows” it. These women have taken Ms. Sontag’s words out of