Female, forty and furious

smh.com.au ^

[NYC GOP Chick]

Great find! But notice how few are short, while there are so many more of the taller dudes. Of course, skill and talent have a lot to do with it, but one has to be incredibly extraordinary to be (relatively) short and make it in the pros.

[abigailsmybaby]

Ya know what? I'm so sick of, ashamed of, and embarrassed by all these years of male bashing from feminazis. I celebrate male sexist pigs!

[Siamese Princess]

My husband believes young pretty women are a dime a dozen, but really attractive older women are a treasure to behold. It's easy maintenance when you're young, but after 4, 5 or 6 decades, you have to give credit where credit is due. We see prettier women at our local malls then some of these "stars" will ever be.

Recently, I was leafing through one of the tabloids and read a piece comparing photos of a number of female stars, one with their makeup and special lighting, the other without. It's amazing how ordinary looking most of them really are.

I'm a Lord of the Rings fan and can tell you how ordinary-looking some of the 30+ male stars are in these films -- for instance, Viggo Mortensen and Sean Bean, both in their 40s, look much younger and are much better-looking in the movies than they do in real life.

[Sodbuster]

This is the free market at work. Studios persistently try to produce a 'classic' movie, but often make flash-in-the-pan movies to make a buck. That is what they are paid to do. In all honesty, there will not be a great movie every year. That takes rare talent to combine together. These actresses are part of the 'flash' to sell mediocre movies. Live with it, deal with it. Actors and actresses should consider themselves lucky to have taken a part in a memorable movie. Most will not.

This sounds like someone griping that they didn't get to be division manager or CEO of a company. There are not that many positions available. People get left behind. Only in Hollywood will you hear about the 'injustices' of the workplace. Give me a break.

[cherry]

"Katherine Hepburn didn't spend a lot of time whining, either. I guess if you have talent, looks are secondary"

that was in an era where great character actors were made, cherished, and loved....

there is not one actor today, neither male or female, that carries the weight of the Cary Grant's, and the Kate Hepburns' or there contemporaries....

maybe Merle Streep...and I suspect that Gary Sinese would be a hit back in the golden age of film.... .

these actresses have it exactly right about the Howood scene...but there duty is to buy the damn studios and put out good stuff to watch....

But these Howood ladies really need to take their grips to the Howood leading men....you know...the ones who perpetuate ultra liberal thinking and who never saw a leftist cause they didn't like...like Mike Farrell or Alan Alda or any of their ilk....

[SauronOfMordor]

How many geeks in High School did you laugh at?

Which is the central point for the lack of male sympathy for the plight of aging actresses on this thread

The actresses in question are perceived as belonging to a class of women who considered themselves royalty because of their beauty, and now are upset that they have been deposed by younger usurpers. Meanwhile, the peasants who were beneath the ex-royalty's notice laugh.

[SauronOfMordor]

It's a Darwinian thing. Women's fertility decreases and stops earlier than men's. Males who prefer beautiful fertile young women get their genes represented more members of future generations.

The way guys are wired, they are most sexually attracted to healthy women in their prime childbearing years. The way women are wired, they are attracted to healthy, strong, high-status (in modern terms: wealthy/powerful) men who can provide for their children.

Older, ugly women, and poor, inept, low-status guys are similarly discriminated against in the mating game

[XBob]

428 - "The way guys are wired, they are most sexually attracted to healthy women in their prime childbearing years. The way women are wired, they are attracted to healthy, strong, high-status (in modern terms: wealthy/powerful) men who can provide for their children.

Older, ugly women, and poor, inept, low-status guys are similarly discriminated against in the mating game"

===
Very true

Years ago, I ran across a study on 'couples'. They took 3 males and 3 females (1 each - sort of plain/ugly, 1 average and 1 pretty/handsome), and paired the photos as couples in all the different combinations.

Then they asked hundreds/thousands of people (male and female) who they would rate as the most successful/happy couple.

The ugly man/beautiful woman were rated by far and away, the highest. The pairing of the averages were rated average, and the pairing of the 'uglies' were rated next to last. But interestingly enough the paring of the two 'beautiul people' were rated at the bottom in happiness/success.

[Mark17]

I don't need botox.

I don't need foreskins from a baby.

heeheehee

LOL. Let me see if I can find a 10 foot pole for not touching this with.

[mrobison]

Still waiting at this altar...

[SauronOfMordor]

I find something very intriguing in your post. You make no mention of male actors, and their "sellability" after the age of 40. You might want to address that one

What's to address? Movies with over-40's male actors make lots of money. Think Sean Connery. Harrison Ford. Bill Murray. Jack Nicholson.

Movies that are vehicles for over-40 women can attract an audience of over-40 women going with other over-40 women, but the audience is limited

[SauronOfMordor]

I am also 47, and have been hit on by younger men many times as well. I mean men in their 20s. I politely turn them down. Funny, I've had so many of my girlfriends to tell me to "go younger".

When I was 24 I had a girlfriend who was 39. It was a good relationship -- she was interested in sex and being paid attention to, was past the point of worrying about her biological clock, or "where is this relationship going?", and appreciated a guy young enough to keep going with her for hours at a time

[SauronOfMordor]

If they DO "flop on the couch" to get a role, what does that say about they men the "flop" for? Seems they are not beyond reproach as well, right?

In many businesses, you get people with power using it for personal advantage. Whether it's a purchasing agent giving business to the supplier who gets him football tickets or the casting director accepting "free samples", it's not uncommon.

The intelligent ones balance immediate self-interest with long-term self-preservation. If your choice is between two suppliers and their bids are about equal, you can safely go with the one who wined and dined you. If you give a part to the girl who gives you a nice time, but she's terrible in the part, you won't stay casting director for long.

One woman I know used to be in investment banking. She was telling me that she had to sleep with the power brokers to get in on the good deals, but there was a "glass ceiling" on the deals she could get in on. It did not occur to her that her favors evaluated to be worth the risk of her screwing up a $N deal, but not worth the risk of her screwing up a $10N deal. She's also bitter that she got eased out after 35.

[SauronOfMordor]

This line of thinking is cruel. Would you describe your mother that way? Your sister? Your wife, when you are over 40? These people you are talking about are pretty attractive, for the most part. I don't care for the actresses themselves or their whining, but I just felt PAIN at your description of us over-40s. So that's how the average man sees us?

I'm well over 40, as is my wife. When you have somebody who is focused on making you happy, the fact that she's no longer 29 and 98 pounds is not important

On the other hand, when you have somebody who ONLY ever had looks going for her, whose looks were the ONLY reason men tolerated her company, it's a whole different story

As I tell my teen daughter: "Guys don't respect sluts. The defining characteristic of a slut is being such a loser that you HAVE to use your sexuality in order to get guys to tolerate having you around. Don't be a slut. Make sure you have substance behind the face, and you will have guys interested in hanging out with you. And how can you tell which guys are the ones who are interested in your substance rather than your breasts? They're the ones who stick around after you make it clear you're not dealing any out until marriage"

[LisaMalia]

When I was 24 I had a girlfriend who was 39. It was a good relationship -- she was interested in sex and being paid attention to, was past the point of worrying about her biological clock, or "where is this relationship going?", and appreciated a guy young enough to keep going with her for hours at a time

I had to chuckle wickedly after reading this.....

I don't always agree with your posts, but your take on what some older women want in a relationship may have some validity......:)

[LisaMalia]

"Guys don't respect sluts.

Just curious, and don't take this the wrong way, because I do agree with some of what you're say here....but what is your definition of a "male slut"? Do they even exist in your world?

[ItsOurTimeNow]

I am absolutely nauseated when I see over-the-hill actors like Jack Nicholson and Harrison Ford paired with 25-year-old actresses.

I don't want to live in a world where a righteous dude like Jack ISN'T getting some hot young tail!

[Junior]

Two words: Katherine Hepburn.

[SauronOfMordor]

Just curious, and don't take this the wrong way, because I do agree with some of what you're say here....but what is your definition of a "male slut"? Do they even exist in your world?

Male sluts exist, and they're called gigolos, but they don't have as much of a market as the call girls do

The true flip side of the slut is the sugar daddy. He's the guy the cute girl keeps around because he buys nice stuff and pays the bills. She tolerates him only because of what he provides, rather than liking him for who he is. She might even pretend to like him or love him, but it is as much an act as that of the "player" guy who tells his current bed-partner what she wants to hear.

In neither case is the slut or the sugar-daddy loved for what they are, only used for what they provide. In both cases there's a similar level of anger the first time they realize they are only being used by people who personally hold them in contempt. Some eventually resign themselves to taking what they can get.