tagged w/ Ageism
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"Films are perpetuating harmful and out-of-date sexual, racial and gender stereotypes, according to the biggest-ever study of its kind into cinema audiences' opinions.
Of 4,315 adults across the UK who were surveyed, a clear majority believe cinema too often falls back on discredited stereotypes, including sexless older women, drug dealing, oversexualised black people and gay people whose lives are dominated by their sexuality.
Almost two-thirds of those questioned believe older women are "significantly underrepresented" in films. They are rarely portrayed as sexual beings and are, generally, only given marginal roles, according to the findings, published exclusively in the Guardian today.
Respondents said film-makers needed to try harder to create films which authentically reflected their lives.
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"Contrary to what one would expect, older women are increasingly comfortable with the 'cougar' image: they feel it signifies renewed interest and admiration for this age group," said Steve Evans, research director of Harris Interactive and author of the report, pointing to Melissa Leo, who won the supporting-actress Academy Award for her role as a domineering matriarch in The Fighter.
But Ariel Levy, author of Female Chauvinist Pigs, said the structure of films made it "almost impossible" to show nuanced, accurate portrayals of women. "Films are very formulaic and straitjacketed," she said. "Films are fairytales that, unless they have an unusually politically astute and creatively imaginative director, need to fall back on often insulting gender and racial archetypes to generate the energy necessary in the short amount of time they have."
Shirley Conran, author of Superwoman, said she had long given up expecting films to portray older women in anything other than a "grotesque" way. She agreed with Levy that the problem was inherent in the film industry. "They always say there are no good parts for women but there are lots of stories with great female characters. I have written some of them myself, and had them optioned by film companies," she said. "The problem is that the money men won't let those films get made because they underestimate audiences.""Films are perpetuating harmful and out-of-date sexual, racial and gender... more
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I received the above e-mail a few days ago from none other than WebMD (red line emphasis mine). Not just a credible source, but a credible source of information that millions of people look to for medical authority. You’d think that a website representing the medical industry and doctors would understand that aging isn’t a disease.
“Those little imperfections.”
What? Seriously? These are supposed medical professionals recommending the use of cosmetics to cover your natural aging process? What the hell?
This immediately makes me wonder how many people are clicking that feature. How many people are reading this wondering if they, too, have “little imperfections” that must be downplayed.
It’s a long road before we convince women (note: please see that the above e-mail was only sent to women) that aging isn’t an ugly, inappropriate process that robs you of your womanhood, beauty, or sexuality. WebMD (or any credible, body-associated authority) doesn’t help the psychology of women with this kind of approach, but you can speed up the process by letting them know that it bothered you, if it did. Shoot them an e-mail here.
Do you find this offensive? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.
http://thedemoiselles.com/archives/is-the-medical-industry-exploiting-your-fear-of-agingI received the above e-mail a few days ago from none other than WebMD (red line... more
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This morning I read an article on the world’s youngest grandmother, who had her first child at twelve and her first grandbaby at twenty-three:
“Mum-of-two Rifca Stanescu was 12 when she had her first child Maria.
She urged the girl not to follow her example – but Maria gave birth to son Ion while only 11.”
We have to consider the source – this was reported by British tabloid The Sun – but to be frank, I’m not very concerned about Ms. Stanescu, her children, or her grandchildren. Romanian women typically marry quite young, with a mean age of twenty-three. I’m more concerned about the people commenting on this news, all over the web...
[To see the quotes and responses thereto, please continue to the webpage.]
http://thedemoiselles.com/archives/youngest-grandmother-is-23-but-what-does-she-look-likeThis morning I read an article on the world’s youngest grandmother, who had her... more
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-Have you ever looked out your peephole and felt scared of a trick-or-treater? You're not alone. Mayor Mark Eckhert of Belleville, Ill., says he's heard a ton of complaints from frightened single mothers and senior citizens who are less than happy about the “6-foot-tall kids” that ring their doorbells on Halloween. His solution: To create an ordinance banning high-school teenagers—that is, anyone over the age of 12—from trick-or-treating.
"When I was a kid my father said to me, 'You're too damn big to be going trick-or-treating. You're done,’" Eckhert told ABC News. "When that doesn't happen, then that's reason for the city governments to intervene."
Intervening, in this case, means putting an age limit on trick-or-treaters, and threatening the over-12 set with a $100 fine for those who ignore the law—though, according to ABC, that fine has rarely, if ever, been actually meted out. And while some residents of Belleville have complained about the ordinance, it seems that many more are relieved. Trick-or-treat age limits have also been popular in townships in South Carolina, Mississippi, Maryland, and Virginia.
However comforting these restrictions may be to some, we can't help but wonder: Are laws the right way to go when we're teaching kids about becoming better adults?
. . .continued . . .
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http://shine.yahoo.com/event/momentsofmotherhood/how-old-is-too-old-for-trick-or-treating-2403664/-Have you ever looked out your peephole and felt scared of a trick-or-treater?... more
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Apparently, the answer is "yes" in Hollywood more and more. Here, famous comediennes like Amy Poehler, Sarah Silverman, Christina Applegate, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and more, talk ageism in tinsel town: http://stilettorevolt.com/?p=1273Apparently, the answer is "yes" in Hollywood more and more. Here, famous... more
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"It is all too easy for a female actor to find herself cast as the mother of someone who once played her boyfriend as soon as she blows out the candles on her 35th birthday cake. This has long been an accepted fact of Hollywood life, and one that most women keep schtum about as they know they should be grateful to get any roles at all in their decrepit post-30s.
Quite why film directors are so averse to having middle-aged roles played by middle-aged women comes down to male insecurity and misogyny. In regards to the former, if the mother is played by, say, a thirtysomething, that would suggest that the male lead must be still a teenager. As for the more obvious issue of misogyny, the sense of disgust of older women is so deeply entrenched in Hollywood that even when the role is specifically for an older woman, no one wants to see an actual older woman on screen. Far better to haul in Angelina and sod the obvious discrepancies.
Film audiences have long become inured to elderly actors being paired off with barely post-pubescent females. So those who are roughly the same age as their male counterparts are seen as, by extension, fair game for being cast a generation older.
The question of whether the onscreen age gaps prompt and encourage the offscreen ones, or vice-versa, is a bit of a chicken-and-egg issue. The point is that they both come down to the fact that it still seems to be ultimate alpha-male fantasy to date women young enough to be one's daughter.
Of course, there are very occasionally movies about the potential sexiness of older women. Rewind to The Graduate. Unfortunately, that ultimate older woman, Anne Bancroft, was older than Dustin Hoffman (then age 30) by a mere five years.""It is all too easy for a female actor to find herself cast as the mother of... more
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Former staff at a major gay charity which prides itself on promoting equality are claiming of they were victimised and discriminated against by the organisation. Manchester's gay community eagerly await the result of a major employment tribunal.
On Friday we called the press office of the Employment Tribunals Service in London and gave them the relevant case numbers associated with the current case against the Lesbian and Gay Foundation bought by former staff Alistair Gault and Molly Dunn who are claiming unfair dismissal on the grounds of age discrimination. Their case was supported by up to 10 other former staff, trustees and board members.
We were told that the case has now been fully heard and the judge has been given time to deliberate and return a verdict. This could take anywhere between one week and several months.
Paul Martin - one of the defendants and also Chief Executive of the Lesbian and Gay Foundation didn’t appear in court face to face with the claimants and instead sent his barrister.
GayMafiaWatch also spoke to a key witness who we will not name but they did tell a friend “much more might yet come of this than a tribunal verdict”.
Since the story first made the headlines the LGF has seen it's supporters plummet, and various high-profile member of the community have been asking a lot of questions. In a humorous twist some former volunteers have set up a spoof site at http://ww.thelgf.org.uk
You can find out more about dodgy practices in this organisation on our article from May 2008
http://gaymafiawatch.wordpress.com/2008/05/26/crumbling-foundation/Former staff at a major gay charity which prides itself on promoting equality are... more
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John McCain has been all over the map recently, especially when it comes to the economic crisis that's been hammering Wall Street. He also managed to make some interesting - or rather, bizarre - remarks about Spain on Wednesday. See more articles below on McCain's actions over the last few weeks.
John McCain has been all over the map recently, especially when it comes to the... more
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About ten seconds into Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer's interview of Obama spokesman Bill Burton, the two start talking over each other.
The trigger is that Hemmer's got a simple, but uncomfortable question: Did Team Obama know that war injuries made it difficult for McCain to type when they put out their "he doesn't even use a computer" ad?
Burton ignore the question and just repeats "he doesn't know how to use a computer" line several times, emphasizing, "I read an interview in the New York Times and the San Francisco chronicle where he said that he was in fact learning to use a computer, but that he hasn't got the knack yet."
Hemmer asks, repeatedly and with increasing frustration, whether Burton or the Obama camp was aware about the injuries he suffered in Hanoi, and their impact on his ability to use a keyboard? Among Burton's responses: "I think that I was aware of the fact that he said he was learning to use a computer."
I suppose I should be impressed that anyone from Team Obama even bothers to appear on Fox News. But I guess this is what this election has turned to — ignore the question, recite the talking point, later, rinse, repeat until the segment is over.
About ten seconds into Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer's interview of Obama spokesman... more
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An interesting article about ageism in the workplace, particularly for young designers.
"Last week I drove across town to meet with a potential client only to be patronized for 2 hours. Rather than embracing my youthfulness and that of my team, the client saw it as a detrimental disadvantage that could lead to the downfall of the project at hand and inevitably his business."An interesting article about ageism in the workplace, particularly for young... more
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'Nuff said.
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khsing
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added this
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4 years ago
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Who would ever DROP Joni Mitchell from their record label? Johnathan Rice has the answer. Visit him online at johnathanrice.com.Who would ever DROP Joni Mitchell from their record label? Johnathan Rice has the... more
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Rolf Eden is suing a 19 year old woman for discrimination. The pair went on a date and ended up at Eden's home, where the woman said she wouldn't sleep with him because of his age.
Germany, welcome to the wonderful world of frivolous lawsuits.Rolf Eden is suing a 19 year old woman for discrimination. The pair went on a date and... more
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