There’s a recurring social media post that is updated annually and is titled “Age Reminder”. This year, some insensitive soul took the trouble to remind those of us born in the seventies that half a century was looming before us.
It mocked those born between 1970 and 1980 as toppies and gogos while those bred between 1981 and 1989 were dubbed grootmans and ma-Ouladies. It goes further. The born-frees, born between 1990 and 2003 called malumes and aunties.
Now, human beings have always been fascinated with gerontology or the study of ageing. Living in a culture obsessed with youth is exhausting for everyone because ageing is a privilege and not something to dread. We want to live forever but do not want to get older as Peter Tosh once sang: “Everybody wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die”.
Considering the progress advanced by medical science in recent decades, we all expect to live well into our old age. However, with pressures brought on the planet by human infallibilities, such as pollution, war and crime, many people continue to succumb to death at an early age.
Rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes is a case in point. His life was tragically snuffed out last weekend at the pinnacle of his music career.
But I digress. The social media post rudely reminded me that my half a century is lurking as a child of the seventies. Although my hair retains its black hue, many of my peers’ strands have turned ashy.
I realised I was growing old a few years ago when parking attendants would call me “uncle”. Recently, they have upgraded me to “old timer”, despite my timid protestations. But why should we be self-conscious about growing old? Actor Leonardo DiCaprio’s relationship status has been a source of fascination for fans for decades. This is mainly because it seems he has a “cut-off” age for girlfriends. While the 48-year-old Oscar winner gets older, the internet has noticed his choice in girlfriend seems to remain the same age, 25, when they get the boot. He generated outrage online when it was rumoured he was dating a 19-year-old Israeli model Eden Polani this past week.
Remember that time when former president Jacob Zuma fathered a child with a then 24-year-old? ANC stalwart, Tokyo Sexwale also has predilection for spring chickens. So, what’s the big deal? This past week, 64-year-old Madonna faced heavy criticism for appearing to have undergone cosmetic procedure.
Mashable reported last month on how the latest Tik Tok trend of obsessing over anti-ageing is the newest way to hawk products like serums, anti-wrinkle devices and cosmetic procedures like Botox injections to people in their early 20s. The anti-ageing sector of the beauty industry is projected to be worth $120-billion (2.2-trillion) by the year 2030.
As for me, I’m going to embrace the madala in me at the Sassa paypoint.
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