Introduction

Whelehan, Imelda; Gwynne, Joel

doi:10.1057/9781137376534.0003

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…In addition, Miller et al (1999) have analysed the portrayal of older adults in print advertisements and found 53 characters to be 65–74 years old and only six characters to be 75 years and older. The bias towards the young-old group among older adults is in line with contemporary discourses on ageing which promote an image of a successful, healthy and active ageing experience (Whelehan and Gwynne, 2014). The discourse on successful ageing is more commonly associated with older adults who have not yet reached their mid-seventies, in comparison to those in their late seventies and older – to whom more traditional narratives of decline and loss still apply (Van Bauwel, 2018).…”

Section: The Lack Of Diversity Among Older Adult Characters In the Mediasupporting

confidence: 59%

Diversity and age stereotypes in portrayals of older adults in popular American primetime television series

Markov

Yoon

2020

Ageing and Society

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To examine the prevalence and diversity of older adults on primetime television, and age stereotyping in these portrayals, we analysed the contents of 112 episodes of popular American television series aired between 2004 and 2018. We identified 6.6 per cent of characters as aged 65 and older – a slight improvement to the values reported in previous studies. However, older adult characters are still grossly under-represented, considering the actual proportion of older adults in the general population of the United States of America. Further, the typical older character was young-old, male, Caucasian, middle-class, able-bodied and straight – if his sexuality was referenced. Older women still face double discrimination in media representations. In addition, older adult characters with ethnicities other than Caucasian and African American are virtually invisible in primetime fiction series. Similarly, old-old characters, sexual minorities and persons with disabilities are particularly rare among older adult characters in this type of programming. Finally, portrayals of 51.9 per cent of characters included at least some elements of age stereotypes, most of which were positive. The most commonly applied positive and negative stereotypes were found to be the golden ager and the shrew, respectively. The findings are discussed in the context of the dominant discourse of ageing and the potential implications of how various social groups perceive ageing and older adults.

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Section: The Lack Of Diversity Among Older Adult Characters In the Mediasupporting

confidence: 59%

Diversity and age stereotypes in portrayals of older adults in popular American primetime television series

Markov

Yoon

2020

Ageing and Society

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“…The orientation toward the future of political anger within the show challenges dominant representations of older age as a time of winding down, narrowing possibilities, and physical and cognitive decline. The field of cultural gerontology has been vocal in challenging cultural discourses that follow a standard narrative of decline, whereby growing older is understood in terms of a downward trajectory toward increasing physical and cognitive deterioration (Dolan and Tincknell 2012; Gullette 2004; Whelehan and Gwynne 2014a). More specifically, feminist scholars in the field have remarked on the gendered dimension of aging, whereby the menopause is culturally understood as the end of women’s contribution to society due to the end of their reproductive capacity (Whelehan and Gwynne 2014b).…”

Section: The Gendered Politics Of Emotions In the Trump Eramentioning

confidence: 99%

The Politics of Female Anger in Older Age: The Good Fight, Older Femininity and Political Change

Fegitz

2022

Television & New Media

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This article identifies an important conversation about the politics of female anger in older age in the CBS show The Good Fight (2017–). By centring the narrative around the emotional life of a woman in her 60s, the show offers older femininity as a site for discussing social and political changes that have occurred in the USA in the aftermath of the election of Donald Trump. Through a close analysis of the four seasons that were released before the Covid-19 pandemic, this article maps the emotional journey of Diane Lockheart through her personal, economic, and political crises, showing how different emotions are connected with Diane’s engagement—and at times disengagement—with politics. Ultimately, the article contributes to the field of feminist cultural studies by exploring the way The Good Fight offers female anger in older age as key to feminist engagement and political change.

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“…The question of celebrity, gender and ageing has been the subject of much recent critical work, with commentators drawing attention to the regulatory gaze being directed towards older women celebrities (Holmes and Jermyn, 2015; Whelehan and Gwynne, 2014). Here, the fact that Greer is an ageing woman yet active in the public sphere clearly provokes much ire.…”

Section: Misogyny and Anti-feminism Online: The ‘Backstory’mentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Steve is twice the Aussie icon you will ever be’: Germaine Greer, the Crocodile Hunter’s death, and nationalistic misogyny

Taylor

2019

European Journal of Cultural Studies

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In September 2006, Australia’s most iconic feminist, Germaine Greer, wrote a controversial article in response to the death of celebrity wildlife presenter Steve Irwin. In the Guardian piece, entitled ‘That sort of self-delusion is what it takes to be a real Aussie larrikin’, Greer concluded, ‘The animal world has finally taken its revenge on Irwin’. For hundreds of Australian readers, Greer’s public response to the untimely demise of a purported national ‘hero’ represented a symbolic assault not just on the ’Crocodile Hunter’s’ grieving family but on the nation itself. Following the article’s appearance, Greer’s agents – Gillon Aitken Associates, based in the United Kingdom – received copious amounts of hate mail directed towards the controversial celebrity feminist; these emails are contained in the recently acquired Greer archive at the University of Melbourne and provide important insights into affective responses to this polarising figure. Tightly policing the boundaries of what constitutes ‘Australian-ness’ as well as mobilising problematic assumptions about the correct way of publicly doing femininity, these emails call into question Greer’s authority to speak publicly not just about this matter but about any issue at all. In so doing, these emails – which include threats of violence – work to contest the ‘newness’ of the vitriolic, misogynistic hate speech commonly directed towards vocal women in the contemporary mediasphere (especially via platforms such as Twitter). Against the representation of Irwin as model Australian, Greer is dismissed not just as a ‘bad’ woman but as a ‘bad’ citizen. Accordingly, this article considers both the kind of ‘Greer’ and the kind of ‘Irwin’ being discursively constructed in these emails, and how the mutually constitutive discourses of misogyny and nationalism were deployed in these attempts to marginalise and silence Greer and to mourn and celebrate Irwin.

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Introduction

Cited by 5 publications

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Diversity and age stereotypes in portrayals of older adults in popular American primetime television series

Diversity and age stereotypes in portrayals of older adults in popular American primetime television series

The Politics of Female Anger in Older Age: The Good Fight, Older Femininity and Political Change

‘Steve is twice the Aussie icon you will ever be’: Germaine Greer, the Crocodile Hunter’s death, and nationalistic misogyny

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