Depressing or inspiring for middle-aged women?

Now that the Super Bowl and the halftime show are behind us, let’s take a moment to reflect on what Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s incredible performances mean for middle-aged women.

Are J.Lo and Shakira, at ages 50 and 43 respectively, inspiring women to embrace, or are they setting the bar so high that average middle-aged women feel like they should just throw in the towel and give up?

While the world focused on their appearance and whether their performances objectified women, were “too sexy” when it comes to prime time, I think the more engaging and inspiring issues lie elsewhere.

Sure, both women looked handsome, but they are also professional artists who have a whole team dedicated to costumes, hair and makeup, and even with that team, it took them 10 hours to prepare.

And their looks are part of why they were so successful. It should come as no surprise that both women looked phenomenal.

As for objectification, the women created their own show, including choosing their costumes. And it’s not like the cheerleaders wore robes. Is it possible that it’s just there is a hint of racism in this criticism?

What does 50 look like?

This Up-to-date York Times he had this to say on J.Lo’s physical condition: “Well, on Sunday, Ms. Lopez showed the world what 50 looks like — at least her version of it.”

But it’s not just about looks. I think we can all tell the difference between people who make a living looking like J.Lo and Shakira and those of us who have other careers that don’t involve performing in front of millions of people.

Instead, as a longtime student of feminism, I think what’s really engaging is that J.Lo and Shakira are part of a trend of super-fit women who maintain and continue their exercise programs into middle age and even beyond.

The possibilities of what we can do in our 40s, 50s and 60s have changed. It’s inspiring and sends a positive message to women that isn’t about looks at all, but about strength and resilience.

There was a time when it was assumed that women’s physical health deteriorated after their 40s—after all, their childbearing years were largely over. But that’s simply not true.

A friend of mine recently shared photos of her aunts when they were younger, and in their 40s and 50s, they were dressed like church-going grandmas, complete with pearls and hats. Today, women of that age can wear running tights and matching racing leotards.

Older women take up running

In fact, older women are taking over the running community and as a group they are fastest growing demographic group of the breed. Women in their 40s also achieve better marathon times than those in their 20saccording to the running app Strava.

When my colleague Tracy Isaacs and I were writing our book Midlife Fitness: A Feminist Journey to FitnessWe kept coming across stories of female athletes who achieved significant competitive success well into their 40s.

Kristin Armstrong, for example, did not begin cycling competitively until she was 27, and won some of her Olympic gold medals at age 43. She is the most decorated American female cyclist of all time and the most successful time trialist in the history of the sport. She is a three-time Olympic gold medalist, two-time world champion and six-time winner of the U.S. Championships.

And then there’s Canadian Lori-Ann Muenzer, who started at the 2004 Olympics at the age of 38 and won gold on the track.

There are many impressive seniors among the elderly, including 89-year-old triathlete Sister Madonna Buder, nicknamed the Iron Nun.

Buder has competed in more than 340 triathlons and 45 full Ironman events, which require swimming almost four kilometers, cycling 180 kilometers and running more than 42 kilometers.

If weightlifting is more your cup of tea than endurance sports, you might want to look to Ernestine Shepherd for inspiration. She is an American bodybuilder who is best known for being, at one point, the oldest professional female bodybuilder in the world.

At 83, Shepherd no longer competes but still trains every day.

There is also Olga KotelkoCanadian track and field athlete. Kotelko has set over 30 world records and won over 750 gold medals in her 90-95 age category in Masters competition.

She died in 2014 at the age of 95.

Performers and athletes

But let’s get back to J.Lo and Shakira.

These women are performers of great creativity who put on an incredible show. They are also dancers and athletes, and we can admire what they can do without worrying about how they look or what they wear.

Watching J.Lo glide across the stage, jump and dance away, it was like watching an Olympic athlete in peak form competing. That J.Lo can still perform at this level at 50 gives hope to all of us who want to continue performing at our best—in middle age and beyond.

These outstanding athletes should not be encouraging women to give up exercising, just as Olympic cyclists should not be motivating us to give up cycling.

Personally, I am impressed J.Lo’s Workout Routine and I hope that both she and Shakira will continue to perform for a long time.