Julianne Moore explains why it’s sexist to say a woman is ‘ageing gracefully’

‘No one has an option about ageing, so it’s not a positive or a negative thing. It just is’

Julianne Moore has hit out at the expression “ageing gracefully” that’s so often applied to women, saying it is “totally sexist” because it is not something people have control over.

The 60-year-old actor told As If magazine about the immense “judgment” around the phrase.

“Is there an ungraceful way to age? We don’t have an option of course. No one has an option about ageing, so it’s not a positive or a negative thing. It just is,” she said.

The Oscar-winning actor said people must accept that ageing is simply a part of everyone’s lives. “It’s part of the human condition, so why are we always talking about it as if it is something that we have control over?” she said.

The Hunger Games actor also said she abides by the motto of her colleague, the veteran actor Helen Mirren, on growing older. “Ageing is a requirement of life: You either grow old or die young,” Moore said, quoting Mirren.

She also spoke about the significance of “inner growth”, describing how “we are given a narrative as children that we keep growing through school, maybe go to college then, after school is finished, the idea of growth is done.”

“But we have all this life left to live,” said the Still Alice actor. “How do we continue to challenge ourselves, to interest ourselves, learn new things, be more helpful to other people, be the person that your friends and family need or want? How do we continue to evolve? How do we navigate life to have even deeper experiences?”

These questions are important in terms of “what ageing should be about”, according to Moore.

The actor, earlier in 2019, called out sexism and the gender pay gap that continued to persist in Hollywood.

She had revealed that she didn’t receive compensation equal to what her male colleagues received. “So if there are people who have bigger parts and are bigger stars, they’ll be paid more,” she toldThe Telegraph.

“But I think the question everyone is asking is, well, even if it is hierarchical, and you have actors of equal stature and equal parts, then they should be paid the same. But obviously, it’s very challenging,” she said.

Moore will be seen next in May December, a new drama by director Todd Haynes, alongside Natalie Portman.