'There's real power in getting older'

THIS WEEK'S COLUMNIST Author, activist and TV presenter Katie Piper

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I had what is called a 'milestone birthday' a couple of years ago and everyone kept asking me how I felt, as though I should feel sad or anxious. I think that for women, particularly, we are obsessed with losing our value as we age, which is rubbish - because, actually, we become wiser. The more experiences we have, the more sure we become of ourselves, and we can't let people write us off. There's real power in getting older, and not everyone likes that. As we shun a lot of what we are being sold, we become less marketable.