As I get older, I start to ask myself a lot of questions. Like why do I continue to wear shoes that give me blisters rather than my comfy sneakers? Or why did I say yes to that party when I just wanted to stay home, watch Gilmore Girls, and fall asleep by 10 p.m.?
Well, a few months ago, we posted about the things that women are refusing to tolerate as they get older, and boy oh boy did women have a thing or two to say in the comments. So, without further ado, here are some more things that older women once dealt with in their younger years, but have now reached their breaking point with.
1. "I'm done pretending to be normal for other people's comfort. I finally got diagnosed with autism this year at 35 and it was SUCH a relief. There is nothing wrong with me and I'm not an awful person, I just perceive the world differently and there are other people out there who do understand. So now, if someone wants me to be less weird, less of a 'picky eater,' or more 'acceptable' to the majority even though I'm not doing anything harmful, then tough."
2. "At the risk of sounding conceited, trying to fit the cultural beauty norm. I’m tall and was thin and pretty in my 20s and early 30s. I was always using the latest skincare and makeup and trying to keep up appearances. Now I’m 41 and no longer care about any of it. There’s an incredible liberation in being able to be just a random, nondescript middle-aged woman."
3. "Shopping in person for things I can just have delivered."
4. "Worrying about covering my gray hairs. With the cost of everything going up, I don’t have the energy to spend hundreds on my hair every six weeks!"
5. "Men who expect oral sex but refuse to perform oral sex."
6. "Parents letting their little darlings scream and yell as loudly as they can while doing nothing to silence them. Bad behavior needs to be attended to immediately. Some parents go the 'If you don't stop yelling we are going to leave the store/restaurant/playground' route and then do not follow through with it. Kids learn quickly that bad behavior can get them things they want. And everyone around them suffers for their antics. If they don't stop yelling then leave, please!
7. "Overbooking myself. I'm 41 and in my 20s (and a little into my 30s), I said yes to every invitation — I didn't want to miss anything. Now, I am perfectly happy saying no to things."
8. "People constantly on their phones when they are with actual people especially in small or intimate settings like dinner!"
9. "I am now 52 and I just will not put up with foolishness of any type. I don't have the time or energy to expend arguing with you regarding your political views that involve name calling conspiracy theories or any of those things. You are entitled to your beliefs and I am entitled to mine and I will not waste one second arguing about them. I won't put up with disrespectful behavior. Life is too short!"
10. "Gossip! I'm a very private person who doesn't talk to my family much because I know anything I say gets passed around. My mom literally just chewed my grandma out because she sent and told people about my new car before I even could."
11. "I'm becoming that person who absolutely hates when people break rules and laws. When I'm walking my dog at 6:30 a.m. and people rushing to work pretty much just breeze through stop signs and fail to even look side-to-side and almost hit me, I'm the asshole 'Karen' according to them. Parked cars on sidewalks so I have to walk in the street or people leaving their trash bins in the street all week — just lazy people who don't care. Drives me insane."
12. "People asking me to help them move. I put in my time of walking up flights of stairs, hauling peoples' belongings, stuffing them in my car, and bringing it to the next place. I have zero issue saying no to that. Hire a moving company!"
13. "I no longer have an issue with telling service workers if I don't like the job they've done. I remember being younger and if I didn't like my hairstyle, I would keep quiet and just fix it at home. Now, I know my voice, the power of my dollar, and I (always respectfully and politely) let them know what I want or want them to fix. I find that so freeing!"
14. "Uncomfortable shoes. High heels? Never again. I truly hate having overnight guests and I pretty much hate being one. Noise, especially noise coming out of bluetooth speakers. That enrages me. That goes double for your loud cell conversation on speaker. If you want to talk with someone, do it in private and quietly."
15. "I have way less tolerance for the patriarchy. I look back on younger me and, oh my god, the things she didn’t know. The messages I received are horrifying in hindsight and I just blindly went along with it and thought I was so wise. The entitlement that seemed so normal and the 'pick me' shit I put out there, ridiculing all things feminine. Ugh, I’m done. Burn it down."
16. "As I get older, I have less and less tolerance for people in public having no regard for others around them. For example, someone who parks their shopping cart on one side of the grocery aisle and then proceeds to stand in front of the shelf on the opposite side effectively blocking the aisle so nobody can get past them. I used to turn my cart around and go back down the aisle to avoid confrontation, but now I just stand there and stare at them until they move. If they are EXTRA oblivious I will say, ‘Excuse me, can you move?’ I’m done being courteous to people who don’t give a shit about anyone but themselves."
17. "Accepting people policing what I wear. My work 'uniform' is short skirts with black/opaque tights in the winter and long skirts with no hosiery in the summer. I understand there's a difference in wardrobe when being at work and outside of work, but I used to get complaints from people showing more skin than me, including the men with their shirts buttoned low-ish and no undershirt."
18. "I'm done shaving anything but my legs when I feel like it. Years of ingrown hairs, overly sensitive skin with razor burns, and rashes — I'm over it. My skin's health is better with longer hair and anyone who doesn't like it can look the other way."
19. "Not respecting my boundaries. I no longer have patience for friends or family members who try and gaslight me by saying my boundaries and needs are an inconvenience to them. If you can't respect my boundaries, then you don't respect me. I don't have the patience for this anymore."
20. "Definitely the older I get, the more glad I am that I never wanted kids. Older kids generally don’t bother me because they’re usually more controlled in public. But younger kids running around stores screaming and babies doing that high-pitched whistle shriek thing that feels like it may perforate my eardrums immediately puts me in a bad mood. And being around my friend’s niece sometimes: She talks constantly and wants all the attention all the time. She’s sweet, but I’m exhausted being around her for that short time."
Is there anything you've found yourself tolerating less and less as you've gotten older? Let us know in the comments.
Note: Responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.