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'Allure' Drops 'Anti-Aging' From Its Pages

Women's magazine says phrase reinforces wrong message

spinner image Allure Anti Aging
Helen Mirren also addresses the issue of age in the magazine’s cover story.
Scott Trindle for Allure

On Aug. 18, 2017, AARP updated its editorial policy. All AARP publications, online and in print, will no longer use the term “anti-aging.” AARP believes that growing older should be celebrated and embraced, and it will continue to challenge the outdated beliefs and stereotypes that foster negative associations around aging.

"Anti-aging" is a sort of all-purpose phrase in the media and cosmetics industries, and the meaning is well understood: Here is a product (or news story) designed to help make you look younger. But what if you don't want that — or stronger still, think such a concept is wrong?

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Those were the considerations for the women’s beauty magazine Allure, which announced this week it would no longer use the phrase. The magazine’s editor-in-chief wrote in its September issue that by using the term, “we’re subtly reinforcing the message that aging is a condition we need to battle.”

“Repeat after me: Growing older is a wonderful thing because it means that we get a chance, every day, to live a full, happy life,” wrote editor-in-chief Michelle Lee. The magazine features 72-year-old Helen Mirren on the cover.

“I’m not going to lie and say that everything about aging is great. We’re not the same at 18 as we are at 80. But we need to stop looking at our life as a hill that we start rolling uncontrollably down past 35,” Lee wrote.

Mirren also addresses the age issue in the cover story. "If people treat me like the age I am, I get absolutely insulted, really cross," the British star said. "I hate when people give up their seat for me. No, no, no. I don't want your seat."

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