Why is this?

This will be a politically incorrect blog entry. If you're sensitive - stop reading.

I have lived in three different parts of the world, and the other day as I was looking through photos I came to think of how my friends are aging differently in these different sides of the world. (In general of course - there are always a spectrum of everything)

In Sweden, girls are beautiful. But the older we get the less attractive we become. I think this is often due to "letting oneself go". It's culturally frowned upon to spend too much time in the beauticians or care about your looks. Men, on the other hand, have a tendency to age with style and become more handsome the older they get. Au naturel, of course.

In Australia, women tend to become more beautiful the older they get. My friends seem to bloom over there. The men, on the other hand, often grow larger and larger (letting themselves go due to too much lager, perhaps?).

In the U.K. I find both my female and male friends are looking better and better the older they get. There is a general fear of "letting oneself go" amongst my British friends, and beauty treatments is a given part of any woman's daily regime.

Why is this, I wonder? I don't really get it.