Meryl Streep continues to make headlines. The 76-year-old actress, who reprised her role as the ruthless Miranda Priestly in "The Devil Wears Prada 2," is a true icon. Yet, instead of praising her undeniable talent, the public prefers to speculate about her supposed "secret to youth" and find answers in her "muscular arms." While her figure receives numerous accolades, these compliments on her "athletic" physique are primarily a reflection of many societal pressures.
Toned arms that inspire admiration
"She's well-preserved for her age," "What's her workout routine?" , "This woman is a phoenix," "She must have incredible bone health." For several weeks now, Meryl Streep's physique has become a topic of conversation in its own right on social media, which is usually quite harsh on women over 50. Internet users are praising her "prominent biceps" and "strong back" through compilations of photos salvaged from the red carpet.
In the film "The Devil Wears Prada 2," the actress's muscular physique is evident through her red dress with its almost architectural draping. Compared to a "force of nature" or even a "feat of genetics," Meryl Streep clearly embodies an ideal of aging. Moreover, at an age when bat-like arms and a wrinkled neck are generally considered the norm, her clavicles, adorned with fibers and muscles, spontaneously attracted attention under the flattering glare of the spotlights. The media immediately tried to unravel the "mystery of such a physique," with headlines about her love of swimming or listing her favorite exercises.
This iconic figure of the silver screen, the most nominated actress at the Oscars, doesn't actually need to lift weights to land roles, whether dramatic or historical. However, while she's not known for action films or playing daredevil characters, she has already demonstrated her strength in "Mamma Mia," a musical comedy where she performs technical feats and movements that require a firm grip. The actress who portrayed the "Iron Lady" has cultivated a steely physique off-screen. While muscular women are often considered "too masculine," Meryl Streep seems to enjoy preferential treatment.
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False compliments that reinforce the dictates
From the age of 50, women are expected to look ten or twenty years younger and delay the signs of aging. Articles labeled "senior" encourage them to tone their bodies, smooth their skin, lose their post-menopausal belly, and trade crossword puzzles for a pair of dumbbells. This is especially blatant for those in the public eye. They must give the illusion of being immortal. Muscles are no longer seen as shock absorbers in case of a fall, but as visible evidence of "good preservation."
These collective compliments about the actress's prominent shoulders are, in fact, disguised injunctions. While Meryl Streep may be immune to osteoporosis and rheumatism, she is not immune to the disease of conformity. In contrast, actress Brooke Shields , a legendary face of 1980s films, suffered a completely different fate. Accused of "aging badly," of having "ruined her once-promising looks," she faced a wave of intolerance simply because her shoulders didn't look like they'd just been frozen solid.
In summary, women over 60 who display a lifted face, shapely legs and subtly defined arms are singled out as "models of old age" while all the others are "examples not to follow", bad ambassadors of the passing of time.
Women's physiques, still at the heart of the debate
Meryl Streep's case is not isolated: it is part of a long tradition where the bodies of public women become a space for collective projection. Whether they are actresses, singers or journalists, their appearance is regularly commented on, dissected, sometimes even ranked according to implicit criteria of "youth" and "respectability".
What's striking here is less the admiration itself than its form. Behind compliments on "toned arms" or an "athletic figure" often lies a logic of comparison: "looking good for one's age," "remaining desirable despite the passage of time," or even "resisting" the body's natural changes. In other words, the gaze directed at women doesn't stop at what they do, but continues to evaluate them through what they show.
On the one hand, these admiring comments welcome women's muscles with kindness, but on the other hand, they reflect a far from healthy ideal: that of a woman whose vitality is written on her body like an expiration date on yogurt.
