WHAT’S WRONG WITH BLANCHE?

I’m so confused by this recent meme that’s been circulating after the J. Lo Superbowl Halftime show. First of all, let’s just say, she completely rocked it. She’s talented, beautiful, hard-working, all of it, so why are people knocking that she looks so fabulous at 50? Like we’re not supposed to look like her at 50? That we’re supposed to look like Blanche? Well, my question is, “What’s wrong with Blanche?”

In 1985 Blanche was the hottest, sexiest, most outspoken of all the Golden Girls. She was a devoted wife for decades before her husband passed away. A Mother of six and Grandmother of four. She owned the home that all the ladies famously resided in together, and was one of the most lauded female television characters of all time when it came to being financially, and most famously, sexually independent. I do believe her revealing negligees and lacy open blouses were the nude Versace catsuit equivalent of the time.

When my Gran was about 50 years old, she drove a silver Camaro and rocked a leotard, legwarmers, and support hose when she headed off to her Reboundersize class each day. She did not have Blanche’s overt Va-Va-Voom, but her natural red hair and perfect skin that was a strict regimen of Minnesota’s finest tap water and Oil of Olay, most certainly put her in the “what I would die to look like at 50” category. She was one of a kind with confidence and moxie and style and wasn’t afraid to show it. Like Blanche Devereaux and Jennifer Lopez.

Stop focusing on what J. Lo was wearing (which, btw was stunning) and remember that this is not a first. No one criticized Cher when she wore that black Bob Mackie creation while accepting an Oscar. There was Jane Fonda in her striped leotard leading the world’s most famous workout moving her hips in circles and weirdly breathing as if it was a 30-minute session for something other than toning your arms. If women want to be sexy, let them be sexy. Wear your leotard or your catsuit, but Goddamnit, wear it proudly and not because someone else instructed you to do so. You deserve it, and we all deserve not to be criticized by other women for owning and embracing our age, no matter how you dress or how you choose to dance. Why can’t we simply change the conversation to, “Wow. A fifty-year-old woman just ruled the Superbowl Halftime Show stage better than anyone younger or of the opposite sex in I don’t know how many years.” And just stop saying her moves are degrading to women and will set us back one hundred years and that she’s a bad example for her daughter. Can we be honest? There’s a reason square dancing is not the Halftime show entertainment. This is the world we lived in, and in my humble opinion, J.Lo did it with confidence, talent, and class. Boom. You go, J. Lo.

And finally, can we stop attaching a number to it all? Be You. Don’t connect yourself to a biological number or an outdated archtype. Be Cher or Jane or J. Lo., or my incredible Gran. Or Blanche. If you’ve made it to a particular time in your life and you want to color your hair or wear a catsuit or never leave your Athleisurewear, fantastic. Own it. Be confident in your skin and be proud of who you are. If you’ve worked hard for a bangin’ body and want to show it off, you go. But what we haven’t earned is the right to criticize other women for their talent, drive, and hard work, which is exactly what Jennifer Lopez did on that stage.