‘This is how you age if you’re unproblematic’: How looking young became a sign of moral uprightness online

Saying that a celebrity “doesn’t age” goes beyond praising someone for their looks. It also tends to mean that you agree with whatever that celebrity has just done on a moral level, whether it be their politics, their cultural takes, or the football team they’re rooting for, especially on Twitter. This tweet about Anne Hathaway, regarding her support of the Philadelphia Eagles in this year’s Super Bowl is the perfect example of this: “Anne Hathaway is always on the right side of history. That’s why she don’t age.” Here, holding a popular stance (supporting the Eagles) is deemed the reason for her maintained physical beauty, something we are made to believe is a feat, given her age. Hathaway is 42. Over 200 thousand likes later, we’ve reified our biases.