Peter Moore: Do you want to live forever?

The pop star Mariah Carey has made a decision.

When asked about her approach to aging she said, “I don’t allow it – it just doesn’t happen. I don’t know time. I don’t know numbers. I do not acknowledge time”. 

Whisper it quietly but she’s fifty-six or, by her logic, twenty-six. I’m sorry Mariah but, unless you have a picture in the attic like Dorian Gray, there is only one alternative to getting old and I don’t want that. Sadly one of her songs which seems immortal appears every Christmas usually starting in August, “All I want for Christmas is you”. 

I was always dubious when the musical “Fame” claimed “I’m going to live forever, I’m going to learn how to fly”. Both are unlikely but keep dreaming. Trying to fly by jumping out of a tall building will definitely not lead to eternal life. 

I was once asked whether I could ensure someone could live forever but that was a typo. I had a message from a patient asking whether I could provide for “power of eternity”. I explained that she should see a vicar. She meant “power of attorney” 

Mariah is a typical diva who has had her own mental health issues but is she any different from other female stars? She denies any surgery or other artificial “anti-aging” treatments but for others it is now possible to try to hide the outward signs of aging with Botox injections and fillers. As we age the fat deposits around the face diminish just when the fat deposits around the abdomen enlarge. The lips and area under the eyes thin. Fillers can literally fill in the spaces where the fat deposits have disappeared. 

The effects of the menopause can be reduced by HRT, although unlike Botox and fillers, HRT also offers a large number of other health benefits. 

There are other ways we can all try to reduce aging throughout life by not smoking or vaping, cutting alcohol and increasing exercise. Too much sun can also lead to prematurely aging skin although, more seriously, it can also lead to skin cancer. 

Some creams are advertised as “anti-aging”, but all this means is that they contain a sunblock. 

I have even discovered that it can be considered offensive to admit that us lucky ones get old. When I rang for a senior ticket to one event and I asked, “do you have a reduction for us geriatrics?” I was sternly told that the word “geriatric” is offensive, the word is “senior”. I was surprised. I was referring to myself and I did not take offence. Perhaps I should have “no platformed” myself and never spoken to myself again. 

But shouldn’t we accept the inevitable and even embrace it. I doubt if Roger Daltrey of The Who still agrees with the line “I hope I die before I get old” since he is now eighty-one. He does have some problems from the years of sex, drugs and rock and roll.  He is losing his hearing although that may also be from his years as a sheet metal worker. He is also developing rotator cuff syndrome of the shoulder from years of swinging the microphone around. This is also a symptom of “My Generation”. Today mics are often cordless. 

Another eternal youth is Paul Jones of The Manfreds. When I saw him at the Princess Theatre, he was running round the stage like a twenty-year-old despite being eighty-three. 

Mariah’s attitude to aging is understandable when we look at the way older women are treated in the entertainment industry. Research by the “Centre for better aging” found that nearly half the women’s roles were aged between 18- 34 with only 10% given to women over 65. To make the situation worse women over fifty were more likely to be given roles which portrayed characters which were senile or unattractive. This did not apply to male roles. 

Even the roles for older women were often given to people younger. In The Graduate the older Mrs. Robinson who seduces the young graduate was played by Anne Bancroft who was only thirty six while the young graduate, Dustin Hoffman was thirty. 

There are exceptions. No one could underestimate Judi Dench as “M” in the Bond films. 

Mariah may believe that time doesn’t exist, but her body will never agree.

She is not refusing to age; she is refusing to accept that she is aging.