Aging women are worthless. That’s the message culture keeps sending.

Of course, no one says it outright. 

That would be too crude. Too impolite. So instead, it’s communicated through all the little social cues — who gets attention, who gets opportunities, who gets centered, and who gets quietly passed over.

And over time, you start to feel it in your own life. The compliments come less often. The interest shifts. The male gaze doesn’t linger the way it used to. With every birthday that passes, it can feel like you’re losing value.

So you respond the only way that makes sense. Time feels like an army advancing, and you raise your defenses to hold the line. Skincare routines. Workouts. Maybe a little Botox. Maybe something more. Not because you’re vain — but because you’re fighting for survival.

What makes this even more suffocating is that the timeline has been pushed up. What once felt like a concern in your forties now starts in your twenties. Gen Z celebrities are picked apart for “aging badly” before they’ve even finished growing into themselves. 

Millie Bobby Brown, at just twenty-one years old, was told she looks forty.

So what do you do in a world where aging has started to feel like a crime? Where the natural evolution of a body is treated like a personal failure?

To help make sense of this moment, we invited Dr. Hillary McBride into the studio. Hillary is one of the world's leading psychologists working at the intersection of body image and aging. 

With years of clinical experience sitting with women under this exact pressure, she’s uniquely positioned to see the full picture — what’s happening culturally, how it’s shaping us psychologically, and what it actually takes to break free.

This is one of the most comprehensive conversations you’ll hear on this topic. We don’t shy away from the uncomfortable or the taboo. Hillary names this moment with rare precision, and what she suggests comes next deserves serious attention.

0:00 - Intro
1:57 - What Culture Tells Aging Women
13:51 - Men and Women Experience Aging Differently
25:35 - “Aging Badly” Is The Ultimate Fear
49:07 - The Pressure To Stay Young In Your 20s
54:32 - Gen Z & The Rise of Looksmaxxing
1:12:36 - How Social Circles Become Toxic
1:22:52 - Aging Can Be Your Liberation
1:47:59 - Expanding Your Sense of Self-Worth
2:02:11 - The Cost of Appearance Obsession

Related Episodes:
https://youtu.be/96Xx5Kll-y8

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