Dolly Parton's cheerleader outfit can teach us all a lesson on ageism

Music icon Dolly Parton, 77, shocked fans and football fanatics alike on Thanksgiving when she performed her hit songs during the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders game halftime show while donning a Cowboys cheerleader uniform. 

Parton strutted across the stage in the famous star-studded white vest and shorts as the Cowboy cheerleaders, who are less than half her age, danced on the field in the same costume. 

Most viewers applauded Parton’s confidence and defiance of society’s fashion standards for women her age. “To be her age and look that damn good, you go girl,” one TikTokker wrote. Others suggested her attire wasn’t appropriate. 

If you ask fashion experts, they’ll say people of all ages can learn from Parton and other older celebrities who frequently take stylistic risks that go against the norm. 

"When you're younger, the pressure is to look sexy, to look hot," Leora Tanenbaum, author of "I Am Not a Slut: Slut-Shaming in the Age of the Internet," previously told USA TODAY. "As you get older, and you age out of those pressures and expectations, you're still supposed to conform to a very narrow set of rules and guidelines that are never really spelled about what you're supposed to look like physically."

Martha Stewart, 82, attracted similar judgment for posing on the cover of Sports Illustrated last year and for a pool selfie that went viral. While on the red carpet for the Fashion Group International Night of Stars gala last month, the businesswoman and television personality was asked by Page Six about her thoughts on the general notion that people of a certain age should stick to dressing in a particular way.

“Dressing for whose age? I don’t think about age. I think people are more and more and more (fabulous) than they’ve ever been in their senior years, and I applaud every one of them,” Stewart responded. “I’ve dressed the same since I was 17. If you look at my pictures on my Instagram, I look pretty much the same.”

Style coach Megan LaRussa previously told USA TODAY Stewart's comments push back against the narrative that women should conceal themselves more as they get older.

"She's not hiding herself just because she's 82," LaRussa said. "Where I think a lot of women can go astray with their style is they think, 'Oh, I'm getting older, so therefore I need to hide my body,' or 'I can't wear short sleeves anymore,' or 'I can't stand out too much.'"

First lady Jill Biden, 72, came under scrutiny as well after photos of her rocking patterned tights were misidentified as fishnet stockings in 2021. Some people labeled Biden "too old to be dressing like that.”

In a Vogue cover interview in June 2021, Biden said it's "kind of surprising, I think, how much commentary is made about what I wear or if I put my hair in a scrunchie.”

Like Parton, Stewart and Biden, experts say one of the first steps to eliminating ageist judgment, or at least not letting it affect you negatively, is to be unapologetically you.

"Own it because there are always going to be naysayers. I'm sure Martha Stewart experiences that on a daily basis," LaRussa said. "As long as you're confident in the decisions you've made and what feels best on you, then you're less likely to feel put down by others and affected by others. And you can just own your own look, which is such a gift."

Contributing: Charles Trepany, USA TODAY