Horrific criticism of Prof Beard

        I have just been reading some of the really horrible stuff written recently about Professor Mary Beard and her appearance. She is a woman who has made it to the top intellectually and has now moved to the media with her programs on archaeology- an amazing woman.
        OK - she has long grey hair - so what? She has always had long hair, why should she dye it and why should she change the style just because the colour has changed?
        Why is it that when you grow old as a woman, society expects you to start  doing different things with your appearance  Things you did not do when younger.
        Woman perhaps fall into 2 categories - those that do lots of make-up and have expensive hair and those that don't.The camp that do, feel it important to make the 'best of oneself' the camp that don't - don't really care and are basically happy with themselves as they are.
        Now - if you fall into the second group, as I do and Prof Mary Beard and many of the hippies of the 60's and 70's and also many intellectuals, then it is sort of considered OK while you are young,
 BUT
       Once the hair goes grey, then society has a problem with us. We are expected to begin to make ourselves look like societies idea of a respectable old person. This involves preferably dying ones hair.
If - shock horror- that is not done, then the offending grey hair must be either put up in a bun or else must be beautifully and regularly  groomed in an expensive hair do.
      We are also expected to smarten up our clothes. Nothing hippy, no grubby jeans and t-shirt and to be careful not to look like mutton dressed as lamb. We are expected to conform
      But - why should we. Is there the same expectation of men?    - No