Abstract
Chapter 4 examines the differences in the ways in which the identities of men and women are constructed in film. As Amy Schumer, Betty White, and others observe, Hollywood beauty standards are such that mature women are considered unsexy and even grotesque. The increasing ageism of Hollywood is very destructive by denying women ownership of their bodies and onscreen fantasies of sexual maturity. A recent French film, Bright Days Ahead by Marion Vernoux, offers an example of disruptive feminism in the role played by Fanny Ardant, a 66-year-old woman who is unapologetically sexy, but there are growing examples of ageism and the denial of mature female sexuality.
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© 2016 Gwendolyn Audrey Foster
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Foster, G.A. (2016). Embracing Mature Female Eroticism. In: Disruptive Feminisms: Raced, Gendered, and Classed Bodies in Film. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-59547-8_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-59547-8_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-88795-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-59547-8
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