The other day I was walking through Square One Shopping Mall in Mississauga admiring the cute denim-clad backsides of three young construction workers in hard hats walking ahead of me. I’ve always had a weakness for construction workers and there’s something particularly sweet about nice tight male bums framed in leather tool belts. Then, with the precision and synchronization of a military marching band, all three heads instantly snapped to the right when a twenty-something girl wearing very snug white shorts and a sparkly tight pink tank top went strutting by on firm, tanned legs. Their reaction made my day; put a huge smile on my face. Political correctness aside, their spontaneous reaction was a joy to witness.

Once upon a time, I too could possibly generate a similar reaction from construction workers. While many feminists (myself included) have derided young men for making kissy sounds or whistling as you walked by a construction site, on some level it felt flattering to be appreciated, albeit superficially. I miss those days. I clearly remember that hot July lunch hour in 1968 getting my ass grabbed in my mini-dress at the corner of Bay Street and Temperance (ironic, eh!) in Toronto. My reaction at the time was shock and indignation and I don’t condone such behaviour, but truth be told, I now regularly carry out an old lady visual reenactment of the same thing almost every day in my own version of reverse sexism.

My sixty-eight-year-old brain hasn’t quite computed that I’m no longer in the game—except in Florida where I’m still considered jail-bait. It’s like appreciating a beautiful sunset or a yummy pair of python stilettos (that I can no longer wear) on display in a store window. The appetite for beautiful things never diminishes. So, all those cute young guys in snug jeans or the junior stock traders in perfectly tailored business suits walking Bay Street at lunch time, watch out for this little old lady from Miss-iss-auga. There’s an entire generation of admirers who like what we see and we’re definitely thinking politically incorrect thoughts. You’re on our radar so walk proud. Some day you’ll be wearing mom or dad jeans just like us, so enjoy it while you can.