Aging woman puts herself on a desert island
Dear Amy: I am a 62-year-old woman. I am still attractive and (blessedly) wrinkle-free, due to being on an aggressive slew of hormones, anti-oxidants and telomerase-enhancing drugs. (I'm using all the latest technology).
Because I am (apparently) unattractive to men, no matter what I do, I take solace in the few close but platonic relationships I have with a few men.
During a recent walk on the California beach with my friend "Martin," he pointed out one beautiful nubile young woman after another, and then described his male reaction to them.
Martin also indicated that I should slim down. (I'm not overweight).
As a middle-aged woman, I am used to being marginalized, but I think that, during the last three years, the problem has become acute. I'm not invisible: I'm reviled and demeaned, both by employers and single men. These days you have to look like a porn model to even get by.
Short of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on plastic surgery, I don't know what I can do. I feel that something that was optional years ago is now a necessity: a complete body makeover.
I have become extremely depressed about the situation. Were it not for my loving father, who left me with enough money to live on, I would be out on the streets.
I am still in excellent health. But if people (both men and women) feel my looks are "off," they will say so!
Short of moving to a desert island and waiting for death, what are we supposed to do?
-- Wrinkle Free and Upset
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