I would like to sympathise with barrister Charlotte Proudman. Recently, I was asked by a female editor to send my photograph to illustrate a piece I had written for her publication on the subject of the law as a career from the perspective of ‘the older man’ looking back on his experiences.
The response I received was rather muted. I was told that the picture was ‘Perfect. Quite the silver fox.’
Was this the eroticisation of my physical appearance as a way of this editor exercising power over me? Or rather, was it ‘a form of social policing, gender control and a hidden form of social violence’?
I am balding and my ears stick out. I say: keep calm and love older men. But actually, I shall never be an old man. For me, old age is always 15 years older than I am.
Christopher Digby-Bell, London W1
