Studio Lizzy: Sexism, Ageism, and the Amazing Disappearing Woman

Dos Equis Ad

Headline: A Man is Considered Old
77 year old Jonathan Goldsmith, who has portrayed The Most Interesting Man in the World for Dos Equis since 2007 has been put out to pasture. In his place is 44 year old French actor Agustin Legrande. Apparently, even a man has an expiration date in the world of advertising.

Agustin Legrande

During his years as The Most Interesting Man...Mr. Goldsmith was often shown surrounded by lovely young women who were clearly enamored by, and attracted to this "stunning example of male magnetism."

Dos Equis & Young, Adoring Women

Now, imagine for a moment, that an ad campaign appealing to a sophisticated, sexy, and cosmopolitan audience showed a 77 YEAR OLD WOMAN surrounded by adoring 25 year old men? Ha! What planet would that ad inhabit?

Another Planet

No, Jonathan Goldsmith is not some aging film star. Yes, he did some TV guest appearances in the 60's through the 80's. but he was definitely not a recognizable face.

Disney's Fantasyland

So, back in Fantasyland, imagine a non-actor woman who is in her 70's picked as the gorgeous, sexy spokesperson for a product aimed at a mostly male audience. We all know fabulous septuagenarians who have actually lived really interesting lives (probably far more so than Mr. Goldsmith) who could easily step into this role. But, we also know that yes, it's still a fantasy.

So this posting is about ageism and especially the prejudice against women over 50 by both men and women. With the exception to two previous postings, this writer has never spoken in the first person. Because I have lots of personal experience with this not-new-phenomenon, this posting will be another exception.

Ageism in the Marketplace

Millenials

Ageism in the job search: yes, kiddies, this applies to you who are in your aging 20's and trying to compete in the tech world. Ashton Applewhite wrote a great piece about this in the NY Times op-ed section Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. "You're How Old? We'll Be in Touch."
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/09/04/opinion/sunday/youre-how-old-well-be-in-touch.html

As one who has applied for numerous jobs that I'm extensively qualified for, and yet never even getting an interview, I know that my resume has automatically been put into "pile #2". Said resume has been re-worked and edited several times to highlight skills and experience rather than jobs that go back several decades. But we all know the code words used in job postings; my new favorite recruit term is for "digital natives".

What Happened to Feminism?

The Third Wave of the Women's Movement, 1970's

My first experience with blatant ageism was, surprisingly, within a group of women. Having left my museum job, and while I was teaching an on-line university course, I pursued another passion: animal rescue.

A Shelter Friend

I joined the Volunteers of the Burbank Animal Shelter and, since the group was still in relative infancy, I stepped up to start a Development program, and along the way took over numerous administrative tasks. Imagine my surprise when I thought I was joining an organization whose mission it was to enhance the lives of rescued animals and help get them adopted, only to very quickly see that I was an elder in an atmosphere more akin to a casting agency for pretty young women.

50's Blonde

I'd never been in an environment where youth and attractiveness was a dominant factor in who would be photographed, who would be pushed into more public roles, and who was the best looking volunteer. OMG! We were animal shelter volunteers! In one woman's grant application for funding a rescue project, she wanted to portray diversity, so she tried to assign me the title "retired senior citizen." I was 53 years old.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

In spite of the ageist atmosphere, I worked very hard to help the precious animals who passed through the shelter. And, in creating the first Development brochure, I made sure that volunteers of different ages and ethnicity's were all represented.

Terri Strum and Bonita

Ken Green and Ruthie and Lloyd

Etsuko Mason and Louise

....not a blonde starlet in the mix.

The Amazing Disappearing Woman

Sid Cavanaugh and The Ghost

Another interesting phenomenon happens when a woman in particular reaches 50. She magically disappears.

It's Magic

This is especially true if she takes a different and unexpected turn in life. Although I was doing new and challenging things, and contributing to society in important ways, because I was no longer in "the professional art world", I was apparently no longer interesting. At dinner parties and engagements with friends, I became part of the proverbial wallpaper as my husband was plied with questions about his business, travels, etc.

Wallpaper

The Good News

The best news is that, because I thrive in diversity, I have great friends who are interesting people doing some pretty amazing things. Some are significantly older than me (if that's possible), some are my age, and some are young enough to be my kids. Even though some of us have and will experience overt and covert ageism, I believe the secret to remaining ageless is to surround oneself with a group of people who don't all inhabit the same demographic...