One of our ex-One Direction boys is in the news again — and no unfortunately it’s not for a reunion or proclaiming his newfound appreciation for his boyband years. Louis Tomlinson (one of the lesser liked 1D boys) is going viral for strutting his stuff at the Glastonbury Festival rocking some freshly minted grey hairs. And as usual, the fans are going wild, dubbing him a “silver fox” and fawning over him like … well, like the Directioners typically do.
Now, don’t get me wrong — I’m all for appreciating the natural aging process and letting those silvers shine. And I’m especially a fan when it’s a celebrity challenging beauty norms. But there’s a few things to unpack here.
𝕴 𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖙𝖊𝖈𝖙 𝖞𝖔𝖚 louis’ gray hair pic.twitter.com/9640O5Umjz
— lulu (@louiology) July 1, 2024
First of all, “silver fox”? Louis is only 32 years old and I think we’re forgetting that just because we have a few greying hairs doesn’t put us in the silver fox category. That description is usually reserved for someone who’s middle-aged, with a mostly-white head of hair. A 32-year-old who was in a boyband (literally less than 10 years ago) and decided to not dye a few of his greying hairs — not a silver fox.
And let’s get into the double standards here, shall we? When women celebrities get spotted with grey hairs, it’s like a scene out of Mean Girls on social media. The tabloids start screaming, “She’s let herself go!” or “She looks so old!” It’s all doom and gloom — like seriously, it’s 2024. Can we stop acting like grey hairs on a woman are a sign of the end of their lives?
When Andie MacDowell rocked her gorgeous grey curls at Cannes, some folks praised her, but there was still that underyling tone of surprise like, “Oh wow, she can still look good with grey hair?” Uh, duh.
And don’t even get me started on Sarah Jessica Parker. The Carrie Bradshaw. The woman is a style icon, yet her grays sparked more debates than a political election. And when people weren’t literally shaming her for having grey hair, they were calling her “brave” for letting her hair grey. I’m sorry, but letting your hair do what it naturally does over time isn’t brave — could we be any more condescending? Why are we so conditioned to expect eternal youth from women while men get to age “like fine wine”?
Now none of this is Louis’ fault of course — we love a man embracing his natural look. And it’s great to see fans enjoying the natural aging process of a celeb, but can we get the same energy for female celebs? I rest my case.
