‘Gorgeous’ at 70 and Beyond

Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit issue has been a touchstone of fit female beauty for decades.

The very first issue helped the bikini go mainstream back in 1964.

The issue started drawing controversy in the ‘70s and ‘80s, with pinup stars like Cheryl Tiegs and Christie Brinkley posing. Some detractors accused the magazine of pandering; after all, what do scantily clad supermodels have to do with sports?

This year’s edition features the oldest woman ever to appear on the cover, which heralds her as a world-class beauty at 74. It’s Maye Musk, mother of Elon, herself a veteran model who proves you can still knock ‘em dead well past 50.

"If I thought I could be a swimsuit model for Sports Illustrated, people would have locked me away as a crazy lady," Musk says in a magazine video. “And now, here I am."

Is this progress against ageism?

We should be glad to see anti-aging stereotypes smashed. And, believe it or not, our society still wants to neuter older people, or infantilize them and reduce them to being “cute.”

So, you go, Maye Musk. Strike a blow against all that nonsense. You look fabulous, and so do millions of other people living their best lives at this age.

"I'm very excited to let people know that women in their 70s are gorgeous," Musk said.