You wouldn’t catch the Queen having Botox

In exactly one month, I will be 55. So there’s no escaping the fact that I am in my mid-50s. I don’t know how this has happened, because sometimes I feel 16, sometimes I feel 33, sometimes I feel 4, but I never feel 55, whatever that is.

I’m fortunate enough that good genes and a lack of sunbathing have left me with few wrinkles but I can see my neck going a bit crepey. I’m also lucky in having a husband who thinks I’m beautiful no matter what I see in the mirror but even so, like every woman of my age, I am concerned about the signs of ageing.

However, there is still no way I would ever submit myself to cosmetic surgery. And it troubles me greatly that it has now become the norm for so many women. Judith Woods has written an excellent piece on the subject in the Daily Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/women_shealth/8990896/What-has-she-done-to-herself-The-trend-for-cosmetic-surgery.html), which reveals than more than a million women in the UK are resorting to medical procedures to change their appearance – apparently to boost their self-worth or personal marketability. This has become even more disturbing in the light of recent revelations about the safety of breast implants.

Why has this invasion of the female body become as normal as brushing your teeth? Consultant psychiatrist Dr Alessia Ciani says: “Since earliest times, men’s power has resided in money, women’s in their appearance.”

Women “go under the knife” in order to appear powerful, youthful and desirable – to men – or to “feel better about themselves”. This is not genuine power – this is power masquerading as an obsession with perfection. You wouldn’t catch the Queen having Botox. She has aged gracefully and naturally because she is at ease with her power.

So what does feminine power look like? A woman who is comfortable in her own skin, who accepts herself unconditionally – physically, emotionally, spiritually – and has an effortless connection with her inner wisdom and intuition. A woman who carries herself with grace and strength and can balance the masculine and feminine within. A woman who does not define herself by the way she looks on the surface, but radiates an inner beauty whatever her age and celebrates her imperfection.

A powerful woman would not stuff silicon and toxins into her body and say it made her feel good about herself.