"Because I have work to care about, it is possible that I may be less difficult to get along with than other women when the double chins start to form"

A wry acknowledgment of how purpose can cushion the blows of ageism and the beauty mandate. By locating self-worth in work, something active, evolving, and self-directed, she suggests a buffer against the insecurity that can surface when a culture prizes youthful appearance above all else. “Double chins” functions as shorthand for the visible signs of aging, and for the way society reads a woman’s value off her face. If appearance is the primary credential, time becomes a threat; if purpose is the credential, time becomes an ally.

There’s humor here, but also critique. The comparison to “other women” isn’t a dismissal so much as an indictment of a system that gives women too few sources of public esteem beyond beauty and pleasingness. When worth is externally assigned, by mirrors, by male approval, by a market that monetizes youth, aging can feel like losing currency. People who are made to feel devalued often become anxious, defensive, or “difficult” not because of character flaws but because the ground beneath them is eroding. Work, in this framing, is not just employment; it’s meaningful engagement, competence, and contribution, an arena where effort compounds rather than evaporates with age.

The line also hints at relational dynamics. Partners and peers often absorb the cultural script, measuring women by attractiveness while admiring men for achievement. Shifting the locus of value to work can recalibrate relationships, reducing competition over looks and redirecting energy toward shared goals, curiosity, and growth. It’s a plea for broader social infrastructure, equal access to opportunity, fair pay, respect for expertise, so that more women can build identities that age well.

Ultimately, the observation is pragmatic and hopeful: cultivate sources of worth that deepen over time, and the inevitable changes of the body lose their sting. When purpose leads, serenity follows, and getting along becomes less a performance and more a natural result of feeling secure in one’s place in the world.