Do You Have Rizz?
Oxford University Press, the world’s second-oldest academic press and the publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary, has named “Rizz” the 2023 Word of the Year.
How did I miss that? I’ve never heard the word until now. Rizz is Gen Z slang for charisma . . . or is it chaRIZZma? It means having style, charm or attractiveness, or the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner. It beat out contenders like situationship, prompt, de-influencing and (yes) Swiftie.
If you’re a Quadragenarian, Quinquagenarian, Sexagenarian, Septuagenarian, Octogenarian, or Nonagenarian (look them up), you may feel left out. But wait, there’s more. Taylor Swift was named Person of the Year by Time Magazine.
What are we to do amid all this popular culture and Rizz oozing out of every pore of the beautiful people we see celebrated in the media? Is Rizz unattainable for us in midlife, or do we even care?
Taylor Swift is a role model for a whole generation. Who are the role models for us in the second half of life?
Here are a few second-half-of-life role models with a special kind of Rizz that makes Taylor Swift look shallow. (no disprespect to Taylor and her huge talent)
Harrison Ford. At 81, he has just completed another Indiana Jones movie. He exudes the kind of Rizz that comes from a life of experience and being comfortable in his own skin. In the second half of life, Rizz is wisdom. When asked recently about the special face cream he uses to maintain his youthful appearance, he answered, "Soap and water.”
Helen Mirren: At 77, she has a special kind of Rizz that comes not only from her physical beauty but from a person who has aged beautifully. Inner beauty will always overpower external beauty.
Judi Dench: At 88, she lights up the screen with a gravitas from someone who knows who she is.
Robert Deniro: At 79, he just completed a major movie with Martin Scorsese, who has his own special brand of Rizz. Deniro has so much Rizz that he hardly needs to talk when he appears on the late-night shows.
What about those “ordinary” people in our life who are “Rizzy?” (I just made up that word.)
Do you have some second-half-of-life role models?