Woman’s Right to Bare Arms

I wear a lot of sleeveless tops and there is always someone who writes to me to let me know that a woman over 60 should not bare her arms. Being told that women over a certain age should not show their arms makes me think of all the outdated social dictates that women have experience through the years.

It was thought scandalous for women to show their ankles in the 1800’s.  In the 20’s and 30’s going without a hat was considered very bad taste and a woman in the 40’s and 50’s was not well dressed without gloves. A few decades ago women were not able to wear pants in Congress. There was a time in London when women were sent home from the office for not wearing heels.

So here is the big question. Do you feel the need to cover your arms because you really think there is something wrong with them or because you are afraid others will find fault with them? It is perfectly normal to have some loose skin on the upper arm just as it is normal to have wrinkles on your face as you age. We hopefully are not suggesting that women should not show their faces if they have wrinkles.

There is nothing wrong with aging skin. So ….you have some loose skin on your arms or some veins on your legs or age spots on your hands….why is that a bad thing?  Who decides these things? We do ….when we are ashamed of our natural aging process and let others make us feel less than we are because we are showing natural signs of aging.