Your thirties as a golden decade sounds lovely in theory, but its broader implications are complex: that, as a woman, everything before your thirties is a critical warm-up and everything after is a decline - or worse, an invisible abyss. That’s not to say I know what I’m doing all the time and never make mistakes, but I’m definitely more grounded in all my decisions.” Now that I’m in my thirties, I feel like I’ve truly earned the respect of my peers. Gina, age 35, relishes being in her thirties because of the authority it’s given her at work: “Being a twenty-something is hard because even though you’re not a kid anymore, you’re still perennially the youngest person at your office. I still feel young, but I’ve let go of expectations around where I ‘should’ be and am just focusing on where I am.” If your 20s are an exploration phase, then your 30s seem to be the landing phase.”Ĭrystal, age 37, acknowledged a notable uptick in self-confidence and purpose after turning 30: “I didn’t have some huge awakening that somehow turned me into a proper adult, but I feel much more certain and resolute about the things I want and need out of work, friendships and life in general. “It seems too soon to comment on this with any real experience given that I’m a mere two months in,” she said, “but I can see where and why that stereotype comes from given how I have felt thus far. Leandra, a recently minted 30-year-old, told me she was “distinctly excited” to leave her twenties behind. A 2012 study by Friends Reunited found that 33 was the age at which people of all genders felt happiest thanks to fulfillment from their professional lives and their network of family and friends. A study of over 2,000 people in 2014 found that 31 is the age when women felt most comfortable with their bodies and their sexuality. A study conducted by Alfred Kinsey in the 1940s and 50s stipulated that women in their 30s had more orgasms than women in their teens. A recent Payscale analysis indicated that on average women’s salaries peak at age 39. Statistically speaking, there may be some science to back up the stereotype (or at least the illusion of it). As I approach the decade myself, I can’t help being curious about whether or not it actually lives up to its reputation. ![]() The extent to which women, famous and otherwise, openly celebrate the revelatory clarity of their thirties has cemented it as a bonafide cultural stereotype, ripe for both sweeping generalizations and confirmation bias. “I wished I was taller, had longer legs, slimmer hips, a smaller bottom, even straighter hair… Now I’m in my 30s, I’m very happy with who I am.” “All through my 20s I spent more time worrying about what I didn’t have than thinking about what I did have,” Shakira told Daily Star. I’m 32 now, and everything they tell you is true: You just kind of chill out you become more yourself. “If my 20s were pumping it, then my 30s were like the release button,” Lizzie Caplan told Elle Canada. ![]() “I’m transitioning as a woman, and I’m finally able to express myself as I am.” “This is such a pivotal moment in my life!” Beyoncé told Harper’s Bazaar the year she turned 30. That took me until I was about 31 to know. I don’t think I realized that no one else makes you whole… You have to take responsibility for your own happiness. “I feel better - so much better now than I ever did in my 20s. “Turning 30 was really big for me,” Reese Witherspoon told Glamour. Your thirties are when everything just starts to click: Your thirties are when you figure out who you are. Your thirties are when you have the best sex of your life. ![]() Your thirties are when you learn to take care of (and even love!) your body. Your thirties are when the hours of time and mental energy you’ve devoted to your career start to pay off. ![]() The resulting stereotypes are endless: Your thirties are when your true friend group finally crystallizes. Women’s media and pop culture are major contributors to the oft-cited narrative that ages 30-39 are a woman’s supposed “prime” - socially, professionally, physically, sexually and emotionally. It’s no coincidence her assumption - that to be thirty is to thrive - is illustrated by a spread in Jenna’s favorite (fictional) magazine Poise. One of the early scenes in 13 Going on 30 finds 13-year-old protagonist Jenna Rink locked inside a closet of her own accord, literally banging her head against the wall and shrieking, “ I wanna be thirty! Thirty and flirty and thriving!”
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