The term 'ageing gracefully' is 'totally sexist', says Academy Award-winner Julianne Moore

LOS ANGELES: Academy Award-winning actor Julianne Moore has criticised the term "ageing gracefully" as it applies to women, saying it is "totally sexist".

"There's so much judgment inherent in the term 'ageing gracefully'. Is there an ungraceful way to age? We don't have an option of course. No one has an option about ageing, so it's not a positive or a negative thing, it just is," the actor told As If magazine.

The "Still Alice" star said, "(ageing is) part of the human condition, so why are we always talking about it as if it is something that we have control over?" Moore said she takes to heart a quote from Helen Mirren with regards to her philosophy on ageing: "Ageing is a requirement of life: You either grow old or die young."

The actor said, "We are given a narrative as children that we keep growing through school, maybe go to college then, after school is finished, the idea of growth is done. But we have all this life left to live. How do we continue to challenge ourselves, to interest ourselves, learn new things, be more helpful to other people, be the person that your friends and family need or want? How do we continue to evolve? How do we navigate life to have even deeper experiences?" 

The 60-year-old actor is set to reunite with her "Far From Heaven" director Todd Haynes for the film "May December", which also features Natalie Portman.