Women: have you noticed a change in random male attention over the years?

Yesterday I had a researcher in my office who was interested in issues of how changes in life affected “older” women. She was interested because she was experiencing these changes herself. One of these changes was the attention she received from men on the streets. She found herself slowly turning “invisible.”

I was a bit shocked. She was only 40 or so, and to me she looked very attractive. I have some close female friends in their late 40s and early 50s and they also look very attractive to me. They all look like they are in their 30s, yet they all act very insecure about their looks.

So I’m surprised. I would like to ask fluther women what their experience with this is. At what age did you start noticing that men were looking at you on the streets? At what age did it start slowing down? When did it stop (if it has)?

Do you think it has to do with your physical looks alone, or are there other factors involved, such as clothing or how you feel about yourself that day? My researcher said that a young girl could be wearing a burlap bag and she’d still get wolf whistles, whereas an older woman could be wearing hot pants and the men would ignore her. Is this your experience?