A troll called Marisa Tomei's 60th birthday video 'tragic' but the internet wasn't having it

Society often places rigid expectations on women, dictating how they should look, dress, and live as they age. So, when someone defies those norms, it can spark unnecessary backlash. Actress Marisa Tomei faced just that when a video celebrating her 60th birthday prompted an unwarranted reaction online. A man known as @Indian_Bronson on X criticized her for being "sexually appealing" at her age, labeling it "tragic."

"I am not saying she isn't physically fit and pleasant looking, and surely very healthy, but there is something fundamentally tragic about a 60-year-old woman without children trying to look sexually appealing," the man wrote. "It is personally and socially undignified. It is not pro-civilizational. I am sorry to see it." He added, "Who knows what happened in her life, obviously, she is a pleasant, talented person. I am not making a criticism of her in particular or anyone in that situation. I just don't think this is a good outcome to aspire to or valorize."

The man elaborated, "'Attractiveness is solely for the purpose of reproducing' it primarily is, and that hasn't been fulfilled here That's why there's something sad about it happening at 60 with no children." The man went on, "I am ecumenical — I believe in multiple status hierarchies and different paths in life. On the whole, though, I think mass society should mostly cater to the pathway of early marriage, sexual continence, traditional family structures, and religiously grounded public morality." The post received more than 6.5 million views and several people took to the comments section of the thread to counter what the man said. Many people even pointed out that women don't simply do things to cater to the male gaze.

@hyperdiscogirl wrote, "Would it also be tragic if she did have children? It's strange to me to suggest attractiveness is solely for the purpose of reproducing and once reproductive capacity is over, it should be abandoned. There is clearly a lot of good that it brings decoupled from that." @lanajulie33 commented, "Hey misogynists, just an FYI, but women don't exist solely to reproduce, nor do we exist just for the male gaze. Hope this helps." @allinpearl remarked, "So If she had birthed a kid, it would be okay to look sexually appealing? Or you are just annoyed that she gets to be childfree and has the 'audacity' to be sexually appealing?"

@DougLain shared, "She's an actress, and being sexually appealing is part of the job. Also, married people in their 60s still want to be sexually appealing usually. They still want to find each other attractive and be attractive. You don't drop dead at 40." @HaffordVincent expressed, "Why would you say this? Do the older folk not deserve to be loved or have love and to 'appeal' to their peers? The way you make it sound, if people aren't in a lifelong relationship by a certain age, they deserve to be single and alone the rest of their lives."