Helen Mirren Makes Looking Sexy Seem so Darn Easy!!!

Helen Mirren Receiving her Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

THIS IS WHAT MAKES A WOMAN SEXY

What makes an older woman sexy? I fell asleep the other night wondering this, having contemplated the subtle erosion of the various bodily bits which supposedly evoke sexual urges.

But before I launch into my exegesis, I must make a minor (and defensive) detour and query the same about older men. What do we find sexy about Jeremy Irons or Clint Eastwood? Isn't is their self-assurance? Their ease? Why is it considered that they look great when their hair turns silver and lines define their face, yet this doesn't apply to women? I know, this is a huge topic and a bit of an old saw, and frankly I'm really bored by it, as any self respecting woman of our generation should be, and yet the imbalance does persist. (Oh yes, I forgot -- and how could I, given contemporary media -- we are sex objects.) I know... Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem did the mindful on our behalf, yet that did little for the Australopithecus brain of our male counterparts. Hello Ladies, we need to, as they say,represent.

Of course traditionally women of a certain age went and did strange things to their hair: dyed it too dark, or tinged it violet, or permed it, or waved it, or essentially made it look seriously goofy. I mean really, do the same to a man and he'll look ridiculous too. Then of course, older dames insisted on wearing too much jewelry and makeup and floral print silks or absurd matching outfits a la Queen Mum. So really, we've been doing it to ourselves for years. 

But let's get down to the nitty gritty. What is it that makes an older woman sexy? First of all, it's how a woman inhabits her body. No matter the size or shape -- is it her temple? Does she treasure it? Is she proud of it? Does she own it? A woman who owns her body, is just damn sexy. Every shape has its attendant curves and delights; a woman who knows how to display them just plain rocks. And let's not forget the structural elements, the bones, many of which, as the flesh shifts, gain more presence, more sculptural gravitas. Consider shoulders, consider hips, consider the back...