The fact that Jasmine Guy even had to get on Instagram and defend the fact that she has aged is absolutely ridiculous.

The fact that Jasmine Guy even had to get on Instagram and defend the fact that she has aged is absolutely ridiculous. After A Different World came back as the reboot on Netflix, people immediately started picking apart Jasmine's appearance and talking about how different she looks now compared to Whitley Gilbert in the 80s and 90s. And Jasmine responded by saying, the internet can be brutal to women as we grow older and pointed out how society tells us to celebrate life while criticizing every physical sign that we've actually lived one. True that. Like, God forbid a woman ages, right? Jasmine Guy is 64 years old. She is literally old enough to be somebody's grandmother. Why exactly are we expecting her to look like the 20-something year old woman we watched at Hillman College almost 40 years ago? Sorry, not sorry, but there is absolutely some misogyny and ageism wrapped up in this conversation because Jasmine is not the only original cast member who looks older. They all aged, yet somehow her appearance becomes a major conversation. Women are constantly put in this impossible position where we're expected to age and mature, but we're not supposed to look like we're aging. How does that make any sense? Because let's be serious, if Jasmine had gotten a bunch of Botox, fillers, facelifts, and so much work that her face barely moved, y'all would be dragging her for that too. Meanwhile, a man can age however badly or good he wants to. He can gain 40 pounds, grow a beer belly, lose his hair, get all wrinkly and gray, but y'all will not hold them to unrealistic beauty standards like y'all do the women. Apparently, they have to be 55 and look 25. And can we please stop treating aging like it's some type of personal failure? Nobody stays young forever. I don't care how good your genetics are, how much money you have, or how good your skincare routine is. If you're lucky enough to live a long life, eventually you're going to look older and that's fine. Not only does Jasmine look like a normal 64-year-old woman, but she has accomplished so much in her lifetime. She is an award-winning actress. She is the reason why so many girlies in the 90s were named Jasmine. And the best y'all can do is reduce this poor lady down to her looks? She was gorgeous then, she's gorgeous now. So I'm going to need y'all to move around and find something else to talk about.