On Feb. 2, Jennifer Lopez scaled a miniature version of the Empire State Building on stage at the Super Bowl halftime show. She did not resemble King Kong when she did this — though she did appear to possess his strength.

Lopez, you’ve probably heard, is 50 years old. You’ve also probably heard that age is just a number — one the entertainer seems to have defied to the shock and delight of millions.

Remarkably, more than a month after Lopez stunned (and in some cases scandalized) audiences around the world with her triumphant aerobic performance in Miami, the media is still churning out stories about the star, or more specifically, stories about her chiseled body.

In the words of Women’s Health Magazine: “Jennifer Lopez’s butt looks Super Toned (And Tan) in Her White One-Piece Swimsuit on Instagram.” A recent headline on the website, Pop Sugar, reads: “Which is Hotter: the Sun or JLo in this Plunging One-Piece? (You Know the Answer).” The Daily Mail offers a photo caption: “Jennifer Lopez, 50, flaunts cleavage in white backless swimsuit while relaxing on Miami Beach.”

It seems as though every day delivers a fresh dose of disbelief about the fact that Jennifer Lopez, 50, looks a lot like Jennifer Lopez, 25.

And why not? It’s an extremely impressive thing she pulled off, birthing two children and dancing her way to peak physical fitness until she looked as though she was cryogenically frozen two decades ago and thawed just in time for the 2020 Super Bowl. JLo deserves major props for her enormous talent at self-preservation (and pole dancing).

But in this month of International Women’s Day, it’s also worth pointing out that although womankind has managed to achieve great feats in recent years (for example, calling out sexual abuse in institutions and effecting real change within them), we still can’t seem to do what should be easy: kicking the habit of heaping praise on other women for looking younger than they are — in this case to a point where that praise grows into a stand-alone news cycle. It’s a habit that feels retro and odd.

It’s odd because for one thing, how often do you hear people going on and on about the numerous 50-plus male stars who are cut like professional trainers (Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, and any old guy in a Marvel movie)? Where is the torrent of tabloid stories lauding dudes for having the discipline required to remain sex symbols?

And it’s odd because we even try, a bit awkwardly, to frame our obsession with JLo’s rocking 50-year-old body in a feminist context. The popular refrain runs: “Isn’t it so badass how fit she is?”

Of course it’s badass that she is cut like a Navy Seal, but you’re kidding yourself if you think a middle-aged woman’s gruelling fitness regime and restrictive diet have nothing to do with bowing down to an industry that has historically devalued women artists as they age, and is just waiting to devalue JLo as she ages, too. This is hardly a feminist triumph.

JLo is badass, no doubt. But do you know what is also badass? Being sated. Eating carbs and sugar. In 2016, according to Hollywood Life, JLo told US Weekly, “By lunchtime, I’m starving.” Last year she and boyfriend Alex Rodriguez underwent a 10-day, carb-free, sugar-free “challenge,” during which Lopez reported being “really, really hungry, all the time.”

This isn’t meant to be an indictment of Lopez’s lifestyle. She’s an incredible performer, who gave a great, even brave star turn at the Super Bowl, magically appearing to make time stand still. But we’ll know we’ve made some real progress if, by International Women’s Day 2040, we’re waxing poetical about a Super Bowl performance by a female pop star who is 50 and happens to look it.