“You start becoming invisible”: When Gabrielle Union spoke about aging in front of an audience

Bring it On actress Gabrielle Union recently made news for speaking out against body shaming women after they cross a certain age mark. Gabrielle, who turned 50 last year, opened up about her challenging experience of aging in the limelight with editor Jasmine Fox-Suliama on the podcast Who What Wear (WWW), released on July 5 on Apple Podcasts.

The Mary Jane actress touched upon how women begin to absorb society’s perception of their lack of self-worth and start reflecting the same, resulting in their individuality gradually fading away:

"[When you're] 35, they start treating you like you've got osteoporosis. You start becoming invisible, and it's a weird, empty feeling to feel like you're disappearing in front of your own eyes, you start taking on the same attitude as a society that believes that you lack value."

The NAACP award-winning actress, also went on to share that she wished no woman ever felt "invisible" or "invalidated." She also encouraged women to validate themselves and not look for someone else’s approval:

“I don't want anyone else to feel that invisibility and that sense of worthlessness because the only people that we need to validate us is us, and sometimes, the more that you validate your damn self, the more people are like, 'Yeah.'"

Gabrielle Union has been chosen to flaunt on the cover of the July edition of WWW, and the stunning Nebraska star has embraced her body, confidently donning an all-net attire and kicking any negativity about her body.

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Gabrielle Union slams netizens calling her out for wearing a bikini at 50

Gabrielle Union spoke out in the podcast and tackled remarks on social media about her "not-so-age-appropriate clothes":

"Somebody said, 'You're old enough to be somebody's grandma, why are you still, like, wearing bikinis?’ I'm like, 'First of all, they're not just bikinis. They are thongs. And you're gonna see these cheeks until my a** literally falls off, and I might just wear a bikini in the casket. I don't know, that might just be for you, for that one commenter... this is for you b*tch, and it's just gonna be like me in a thong, like a** up in the casket."

Gabrielle Union's shoot for July 2023 cover of Who What Wear (Image via Who What Wear)

The frustration of Gabrielle Union over netizens throwing shade at her for turning 50 in a bikini did nothing for her celebratory trip to different countries in Africa. The actress welcomed her 50s by taking a trip to the second-largest continent with her husband, close friends, and family, making it a part of her docuseries on BET, Gabrielle Union: My Journey to 50.

Gabrielle married NBA star Dwyane Wade in 2014 (Image via Getty)

The Bad Boys II actress said that Africa was the only continent that evoked a sense of peace and calm in her. She also said that she and Dwyane decided to choose countries depending on different criteria.

“We slowly we figured out which countries where we might find the most interesting exchanges and the most interesting gifts for everyone involved. So, there were different things, different people that sort of inspired why we chose different countries.”

Gabrielle Union is married to NBA star Dwyane Wade and the two have a daughter Kaavia, along with Wade’s three children from his previous relationships.