Older Female Singers - A Fine Wine or a Dinosaur?

I am going to be 72 this year and I have noticed that the bookings are not as plentiful as they used to be. It seems being old and fat is not in vogue these days, even if you can sing like a songbird. In actuality the voice, if it is taken care of, should be richer and have more depth at an older age than it did in its youth. Interpretation of a song should be much more colorful and diverse due to life experiences. In my opinion, hearing a young person sing "My Way" or "It Was a Very Good Year" is ridiculous. They haven't experienced enough of life's ups and downs to make songs like that remotely meaningful.. 

There are so many great older female vocalists in Cleveland and they don't seem to get their dues. They are passed over for the younger, prettier versions who don't have the chops or life experiences to be in their league. Wake up Cleveland! You are missing out on some of the best voices you have. 

Men are lucky, they neither experience the age nor the looks prejudice that women do. I have often gone to a concert in town where the female singer is dressed to the nines and one or more of the the musicians look like they just woke up off the street. Women can't get away with that. If they showed up looking like that, the already few bookings available to them would be reduced to zero. I happen to believe older female singers are like fine wine and should not be relegated to dinosaur status.