I’ve been thinking about my observation the other day that forty-something women wearing fashions popular among the twenty-something crowd look foolish. Since my rigorous, scientific study to date includes exactly two Hollywood celebrities, it’s a rather small statistical sampling for drawing broad conclusions. However, I note that neither Laura Linney nor Jennifer Aniston has children. Even in this “anything goes” age, perhaps a trace of social stigma still lingers in the idea of women competing with their daughters (or daughters-in-law) in the age-old meat market.

Scratch the surface, and the picture begins to clarify. The mini-skirt message appears to be “I’m still as sexy as ever,” which is Hollywood’s primary preoccupation, after all. But it’s part and parcel of the terminally adolescent “mine’s bigger than yours” mentality that has a pathological lock on too much of our cultural functioning. Laura Linney is a fine, intelligent actress, and it would be nice to think she didn’t feel the need to broadcast the idea that her sexuality is the most interesting thing about her. I’m less familiar with Jennifer Aniston’s work; from my vantage point she seems primarily known for playing Debbie Reynolds to Angelina Jolie’s Elizabeth Taylor. Which lends a slightly pathetic note to the scantily clad, stiletto heeled look post the 4-0 mark.