Beyond the Ingénue: Mature Women in Entertainment and Cinema
Despite progress, "gendered ageism" remains a foundational hurdle. In cinema, aging is a social convention that often enhances a man's perceived wisdom while being treated as something that "destroys" a woman.
: Older women consistently speak less dialogue than their male peers.
: Representations of older female sexuality often swing between predatory caricatures like the "cougar" or the pathologized "witch-queen". A Sea Change in Narrative and Power