Amma, 43 Taken just a few days before her daughter arrived into the world, Amma was generous enough to share these previous moments with me. Motherhood has challenged me in ways I couldn’t have anticipated and having a daughter has made me look at the world differently. It’s hard to counteract the consistent messaging our children are exposed to that values appearance over substance. Throughout this project, I was interested in speaking to each person about their experience with their external appearance, how it has served them and how it feels to see it change over the years. Some people can openly embrace every line and grey hair with gratitude though it’s a lot harder for most. It’s no wonder as we’ve been taught to fear growing old for our entire adult lives. While men are given the title ‘silver fox’ and male actors get more role opportunities in their later years, the opposite is the case for most women. A youthful appearance can be a condition of being hired and then that same person will be criticised by the masses for having ‘work done’. It’s madness, it’s sexist, and it’s totally unequal. I look at my mother and I am so thankful she never had the pressure or easy access to change the way she has grown into herself with age. To me, she is so beautiful. #forty+