In the latest 'news' about women's faces after 40, candid backstage photos of Kim Kardashian at a fashion show went viral because her photos from the same event looked different.
It all began when Kim K shared some on-brand curated images from a Dolce and Gabbana event looking flawless, beautiful, and ageless.
Watch: How to be a woman in 2023. Post continues below.
In comparison, the unedited and 'shocking' backstage photos from the same event show that while Kim is still beautiful, she is also a 42-year-old woman who clearly uses injectables and other treatments.
I doubt it will surprise anyone that Kim K manipulates her personal images in order to present her best self. I also doubt that it will surprise anyone that Kim continues to have work done to her face.
What has changed however is that Kim is now over 40 and the little tweaks she once had here and there are becoming more visible.
Because like us other mere mortals, whatever she does to change her face, she is still ageing.
And people have opinions.
What irks me about this latest round of critiquing a famous woman's face for daring to age however, is that a lot of the commentary I have seen on Kim's face is from content creators in their 20s.
One such TikTok creator is Gracie Jones, whose video on Kim's 'real face' has been viewed four million times.
Gracie says that she believes Kim and the Kardashian family's slide from popularity is because they try too hard to stay looking youthful.
"If she did not photoshop her photos so hardcore [sic] for the past five years, and aged gracefully, it would not have been as big a shock to the public or even a topic of conversation, if she showed the slightest bit of realness," Gracie said in the clip.
"In fact, I think people would applaud her for it. But instead they get a glimpse behind the curtain and realise it is all a façade and that not even she looks like this anymore."
Because even if Kim did as Gracie and the other commentators suggest and stopped photoshopping or getting injectables then she would just be subject to comments from another corner of the internet. There would be countless TikToks dedicated to zooming in on her wrinkles or sagging jawline to offer 'thoughtful' witticisms on how she had 'let herself go'.
Injectables or not, the commentary and online dissection dedicated to this warped game of 'spot the difference' on how Kim and other famous women's faces have aged (or not aged) needs to stop.
While I'm sure billionaire Kim doesn't care what the internet has to say about her face, the rest of us just might.
So let's cease to criticise and make fun of women's individual choices for simply living and presenting in the world past 40.
Ageing is a privilege - and how we choose to do it - is a choice.
Laura Jackel is Mamamia's Family Writer. For links to her articles and to see photos of her outfits and kids, follow her on Instagram and TikTok.
Feature Image: Getty.
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Top Comments
Plus, it's not a good message to send young women, so I think it's good they are questioning what older women are doing to their faces in their attempts to look "young". Especially when they lie about it, like Kim K does.