Over 30 = Gender Neutrality?

Okay.. Maybe it's the hormones. Or maybe I'm just hypersensitive (Nahhhh). But what happens to women in their mid-30's? Those of us with kids and/or a hubby go through this weird transition: gender neutrality. We no longer have people talk about us with emphasis on the feminine pronouns. Here - I'll give you an example:

In our 20's, people might refer to us like this:
Who is she? She's hot. She's amazing!

Okay, in mid-30's and with family:
That's Rob's wife. Oh, you must be Brian's mom. Who is that?

Somehow my being a woman is all wrapped up into functioning as the nagging wife or the 'I didn't see you at the PTA meeting' mom. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love being a wife and mother. But it seems to me that as men age, they come into their own. They become 'great men'. As women age, we tend to fall behind the scenes. (Not all of us.) And I don't think it's because we necessarily want to become so and so's wife and so and so's mommy only. I think it just happens in our society. And those of us who are in the public eye as we mature are first criticized for our weight, wrinkles, and clothes before our accomplishments.

As men age, gray hair at the temples is attractive, a sign of wisdom. If a woman has gray - it's OMG, look how old she looks. Men gather wrinkles and it's again a sign of wisdom. Women gather wrinkles and they are told to get Botox, filler, and microderm abrasion if they want to remain attractive. Men pack on a few pounds and they call it maturing or filling out. Women pack on a few pounds and we're FAT, plain and simple. If men had to watch all parts of their body head south for the winter after having kids, they would have mandatory plastic surgery coverage by insurance companies. Women have to endure it or go under the knife at great expense.

And here's the really tricky part. In our mid-30's something else happens to women: we start to love being in our own skin. We start to feel more confident, more attractive. (Hormones, dontcha know.) We start to feel like our male counterparts felt in their mid-20's.

So you may ask: Does this rant have a point? Um.. not really. I think I'm just feeling frustrated with getting older. And the barrage of Botox, Juvederm, Wonderbra, age-defying cream, and models in size 1 jeans ads are starting to tick me off. I may be 34, but I'm not dead. I'm still vital and (reasonably) attractive (I'm no model, but I'm not hideous). I still want to be noticed for things other than my ability to get grass stains out of white shorts and organize the PTA. I want to be recognized for all of my accomplishments. I want to take back my feminine pronoun! Who's with me?

Over 30 = Gender Neutrality?