Gen-X Women Have Way Better Things To Do Than Look Hot

Gen-X women absolutely used to care. When I was a teenager in the 1980s, the highlight of our month was the Blue Light Disco, and getting ready for it was almost as important as the disco itself.

My girlfriends and I would plan everything: The outfit. The makeup. The hair. I’d buy those press-on false nails from Target and stick them on before we went out. There were tiered frill skirts, stockings, boots, red belts, and enough hair gel to keep my fringe standing straight up all night.

This was the 80s. Subtlety wasn’t really our thing, and neither was pretending we didn’t care how we looked.

We wanted to look hot. We wanted to feel like pretty girls walking into that disco, dancing all night, meeting boys, flirting, and hopefully having one of them notice us.

That was part of the point, and if looking the part required spending half the afternoon getting ready, we were more than happy to do it.

Besides, what teenage girl doesn’t love spending an afternoon with her girlfriends, talking about boys and everything under the sun while they dolled themselves up for a night out?

Back then, getting ready wasn’t a chore. It was part of the fun. My, how things have changed.

Gen-X women have way better things to do than look hot now

vintage photo of dancers at an 80s disco Getty Images | Unsplash+

We did our time in heels already

I can’t even remember the last time I wore a pair of heels. I’ve tried a couple of times over the years. I put them on, walk around for approximately five seconds, take them straight back off, and wonder what I was thinking.

There is no way I’m leaving the house in a pair of heels. And nails? Please. I’m hard done by sitting in a hairdresser’s chair once every six months to get my hair trimmed. There is absolutely no way I’m voluntarily adding regular nail appointments to the schedule.

Shellac nails are hugely popular now, and they look lovely. But first I have to sit there while somebody does them, then go back a few weeks later to have them removed or filled.

Yeah, no. It’s not even about the money. It’s the time. An hour sitting in a salon feels like an hour I could have spent doing approximately 47 things I’d rather be doing.

It’s become my measuring stick for most beauty maintenance: How much of my life will this take up? That’s the question, isn’t it? Because once you add it all up, looking “done” can take a lot of time.

There’s the makeup every morning. The hairdresser. The foils. The eyebrows. The waxing or laser hair removal, and whatnot.

Occasionally, I’ll peer into my closet because I realize I’m wearing the same things over and over again. I’ll look at what’s hanging there and think, For God’s sake, Kim. You need some new clothes.

Which means I have to go shopping, and even that annoys me now. I don’t have the patience to drive to the square, wander from shop to shop and try things on under those god-awful changing-room lights, only to discover I don’t particularly like anything anyway.

So I’ll decide I’ll just order something online instead. Easy, right? Except then I have to sit there scrolling through page after page of clothes, comparing sizes, checking fabrics, reading reviews, wondering whether the thing that looks fabulous on a twenty-two-year-old model will look remotely similar when it arrives at my house.

Ten minutes in, I’m thinking, what am I doing? I could be writing, walking in the sunshine, reading a book, having coffee with a friend, or sitting outside doing absolutely nothing.

Time has become more valuable than maintenance.

We really like being comfortable

Most of my girlfriends are around my age, and we’re pretty much on the same page. It’s not that we don’t take care of ourselves. I still like to feel good about myself. I’ll put a sprinkle of makeup on in the morning, do my hair, and make a bit more effort if I’m actually going somewhere, although that’s not happening all that often these days.

But a full face of makeup every morning? No thanks. We’re casual. We’re comfortable. Loose pants. Bell-bottom yoga pants with a long jumper. Runners instead of heels. Slacks instead of skirts and dresses.

We still want to look nice. We just don’t seem particularly interested in being uncomfortable to achieve it. I like makeup, nice hair, and clothes that make me feel good. I just don’t want any of it taking over my entire life.

Being a woman has become full-time maintenance

middle age woman practicing self-care Anna Shvets / Pexels

Of course, I don’t speak for every Gen-X woman — many women my age love their beauty routines

They get their nails done, have regular facials, book their Botox appointments, tint their brows, straighten their hair, and wouldn’t dream of leaving the house without a full face of makeup, and the numbers back that up.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, people aged 40 to 54 drove most cosmetic procedures in the United States in 2024. That age group also accounted for 57 percent of neuromodulator injections, such as Botox.

So clearly, plenty of us still care. But gosh, we’re expected to care about a lot more now. When I was heading off to those Blue Light Discos, we had makeup, hair, clothes, and those dodgy press-on nails from Target.

Now there’s Botox, filler, lash extensions, brow lamination, microblading, shellac, hair extensions, laser treatments, chemical peels, and elaborate skincare routines involving products I couldn’t identify even if you lined them up in front of me.

And none of it happens for free, in money or time. There’s the researching, booking, driving there, sitting in the chair, and going back to maintain what you did in the first place. Even the stuff we do at home adds up.

A 2025 YouGov survey found that 21 percent of Gen-X respondents spent more than 10 minutes every day on skincare or personal care routines.

Ten minutes doesn’t sound like much until you do the math. Over a year, that’s more than 60 hours. Make it twenty minutes and you’ve lost more than 120 hours before you’ve put on makeup, done your hair, chosen your clothes or gone anywhere near a salon.

I’m not suggesting women should stop doing any of it. If getting your nails done, dressing up or Botox make you feel fabulous, do it. But I’m much more conscious of what things cost me in time now.

Maybe that’s because when you’re sixteen, time feels endless. You can spend an entire afternoon getting ready for a disco without giving those hours a second thought.

In your fifties, you know how quickly ten years can disappear, and I’m finding there are fewer things I’m willing to hand my time over to simply because somebody decided that’s what a woman is supposed to do. Beauty maintenance is one of them.

Maybe Gen-X women haven’t let themselves go

There’s a phrase we tend to use when a woman stops putting as much effort into her appearance: she’s “let herself go.” I’ve always found that interesting because what exactly has she let go of?

Maybe she stopped wearing heels because her feet hurt or coloring her hair because she was sick of sitting in the chair every six weeks. Maybe she wears the same five outfits because they’re comfortable and doesn't want to spend an hour putting on makeup before anybody is allowed to see her face.

None of that means she’s stopped caring about herself. She may actually care about herself more than ever.

I still like looking nice. I still like a little makeup and neat fingernails. I’m sure I’ll keep staring into my closet every few months and thinking, ugh, Kim, buy some clothes.

But am I going back to spending an afternoon getting myself ready the way I did for those Blue Light Discos? Not a chance.

That sixteen-year-old girl could spend hours getting her fringe high enough, sticking on false nails and deciding which belt looked best with her skirt. She had all afternoon. I’ve got other things to do.

Kim Petersen is a USA Today bestselling author who writes about relationships, culture, and midlife insight. Her work explores independence, emotional maturity, and the psychology of connection.