Female, forty and furious

smh.com.au ^

[Sam Cree]

One of my daughter's (she's 21) guy friends was over yesterday for breakfast, and was talking about when he becomes old and has a family. I guess he was referring to when he gets to be in his late 20's or early 30's. Cracked me up.

[Woahhs]

So that's how the average man sees us?

No, but it's how most attractive men see you.

[fritzz]

You look better than anyone posted yet!!
40 was my favorite age.

[Sam Cree]

You must have meant to post to ValerieUSA.
Yes, she looks good, and so does 40.

[Hegewisch Dupa]

You don't look damn good at 45. You simply just look damn good!

[fritzz]

Thanks for the forward.

[painter]

"I'm with you on Diane Keaton. I thought she was hotter than her daughter in that picture. Personally, I'm pretty appalled by the shallowness of a lot of these posts, slamming women over 40 as "hags." I thought Freepers had a bit more depth and better taste. I'm 46 myself, and I don't drool over Twinkies like Britney Spears. Sex appeal is more than looks, and most women don't even begin to get interesting to me until they're at least 30 and have become more worldly, experienced and womanly. Come on, "do you seriously think Bo Derek was sexier when she was a young, blank-faced mannequin than she is now?"

I'm with you!I just turned 50 and I have always liked older ladies.Even in high school my girlfriends where older.I like maturity and attitude,I find it sexy.

As for as Katheren Bates,she doesn't seem to be hurting for work work either.By the way,she may be on the heavy side I think her attutude,smile,and the twinkle in her eyes makes her sexy.

[Orbiting_Rosie's_Head]

"The man walks in and looks right at my tits and I saw in his face that there was no way I was going to get the part. And yet in the real world there is no way I would give this guy the time of day."

Ha! The irony here is rich!

[Woahhs]

I look damn good at 45. I wonder what you look like?

I'd post a picture, but you ain't got that much "blur" left over ;o)

[wizardoz]

Well, I am not putting my grapefruits naked into silk! LOL!

That's all we ask! And I, in return, will wear pants that don't "go plumber" when I accept the Oscar for my stunning portrayal of Howard Dean in "One Beer Hall Short of a Putsch," coming soon to a theatre near you.

[TomHarkinIsNotFromIowa]

Enterainment: Something that amuses, pleases, or diverts, especially a performance or show. When you can no longer do this or no one wants you to do this you become unemployed. Should have chosen a diferant profession.

[Mr Rogers]

You make no mention of male actors, and their "sellability" after the age of 40. You might want to address that one.

I think two aspects are at play here.

1) Men remain 'sexy' longer than women. Not entirely sure why. Suspect it has to do with how power relates to sexiness. Most 18 year old girls don't find 50 year old men sexy - but power is an aspect of a man's sexual attraction. If a man stays in good physical shape, is successful and (important!) seems capable of talking intelligently, he's still able to play a romantic lead. Sean Connery (sp?), Harrison Ford and Cary Grant all come to mind. Young women - say, from 18-35, could imagine falling in love with such a man.

Young men, from 18-35, can project themselves as someday turning into a Cary Grant - tho at 45, I've got to admit my odds seem poor ;>) - but men aren't as interested in romance as they are in sex.

That doesn't mean a woman becomes undesirable at 40 - either Hepburn, Sally Field or Michelle Phieffer (sp - sorry) are examples of beautiful women who remained beautiful past 40 - to men who are past 40. But the normal target audience is the 18-30 male: guys who define good beer as 'free' and good wine as one with a convenient screw top.

When I was in high school, a very pretty but very quiet girl shocked a group discussion on sex by commenting simply, "All guys want is to get in your panties!" Since all of us guys sitting there wanted to get into hers, it was kind of hard to deny. That's the target audience - the ones who buy tickets - so Hollywood responds with young, artificially enhanced females. Very few men mature enough to appreciate a grown woman buy movie tickets - don't know if that is the chicken or the egg.

Bottom line to point 1: Girls want romance, and can imagine falling in love with Harrison Ford. Boys want sex, and cannot imagine getting it from Hepburn in her 50s. So men remain 'sellable' longer.

2) Many older roles require someone who has had success in some field for a long time in order to be believeable. For example - you need to send a highly experienced astronaut into space to save the world. How many woman astronauts were there in the 60s? What is the percentage of female fighter pilots? Army Rangers? You need a successful (and therefor evil) CEO - do you pick a woman or a man? One in a great while, a role comes along requiring a successful mother - the wife in National Velvet comes to mind, only 50 years ago - but they are rare. Many roles require a man in his 50s, even if there is no romance/sex involved.

[wizardoz]

Cameron Diaz is considered over the hill, as is Alicia Silverstone, if they even know who she is.

Cameron Diaz?? Man, that was a short run!

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Why don't they get off their lazy a$$e$ and start their own production companies like Marilyn did? Then they can make any old movie and star in it themselves. Let the market decide.

People over 40 have almost all the money.

[RobRoy]

>>My advise would be not to go younger, unless of course, as I stated in my previous post, a vow of silence is taken.<<

I suddenly found myself single at 43. I got together with a couple of "twenty something's" and found the same problem. They were kids, pure and simple. I cannot have a "spousal" relationship with a kid. I met RobRoys Woman and have been in marital bliss ever since. We both celebrate our 50th birthdays next week. Youth is way, way overrated - unless it's your kids they are talking about.

>>Also, all this talk of how poorly women age brings to mind how a lot of men look w/their shirts off after the age of 45 or so. What the hell happens to their pecs, they become so mushy. Quite the turnoff, if you ask me. Men look better w/craggly faces though.<<

The key is that you have to hit the gym at least twice a week. I bicycle commute and it helps a lot but I still have to do the upper body workouts. The older you are, the more work it takes, it's that simple.

Regarding the aging of men and women: When men get older, they look like Sean Connery. When women get older, they look like Sean Connery.

[wizardoz]

Yes --- it's just the young bimbo roles that are not available for those women under 40 --- which is too bad for those whose careers depended on getting naked for the camera and playing those bimbo roles.

Yeah. Whenever Susan Sarandon starts holding forth in her self-righteousness about feminism et al, I remember her on her back with her legs in the air in Rocky Horror with Tim Curry over her saying, "Do you really want Brad to see you like this?"

[wizardoz]

Boy, Meg Ryan looked like hell in Kate & Leopold, though. Just haggard and bitter.... I was hoping Leopold would escape back into the past without her. Poor SOB.

[painter]

WOW!!

You are a serious BABE.

[wizardoz]

Say, remember that song "Bette Davis Eyes?" They should write one for you called "Nicole Kidman Eyes."

[jaugust]

Garr was also in episode of Star Trek around 1967. She's probably more like pushing 60.