Even given this post-#MeToo climate, it’s doubtful that many of these films would be made if the culture didn’t rethink what menopause means and can look like. Menopause, medically defined as a full year without a period, and perimenopause, the years of hormonal change that precede it, are in the midst of a transition, with actresses proudly displaying their names and plans for menopause and perimenopause. It gives a unique analogy. Naomi Wattswho starred in the bonkers 2013 coming-of-age romance “Adore,” founded Stripes Beauty, a company that offers “holistic menopause solutions.” Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop sells Madame Ovary, a supplement to reduce hormonal fluctuations. Hellberry is starting. Respinan online community focused on menopausal health.
This is a truth that sex sells. And as these movies, shows and corporate entities point out, menopause can be sexy now.
“We’re finally connecting women’s sexuality to their reproductive years,” said Shira Tarrant, a professor of women, gender and sexuality studies.
But as Tarrant acknowledges, the juxtaposition is incomplete. And what exactly are those fertile years? Advances in reproductive technology have significantly increased their duration. Actresses, Kidman, among them, regularly have children after 40.
Beyond the bedroom, these screen bodies are mostly opaque. None of the characters in these recent films mention hormonal changes or suffer the common embarrassment of a hot flash or A “crime scene” period. If this new visibility is freedom, it is also very limited. Are you perhaps a woman who is thin, conventionally attractive, and often not white? Congratulations, you can represent your sex life for a while. In these films, limbs are soft, faces are smooth. The breasts are like a military haircut, high and narrow. Thanks to advances in dermatology, cosmetics and surgery, women can be sexy at almost any age. As long as we look 32 forever.
Occasionally, an incomplete body makes its way onto the screen — Diane Keaton’s nude scene in the 2003 romantic comedy “Something’s Gotta Give,” Emma Thompson’s revealing dress in 2022. “Good luck to you, Leo Grande.” – but usually attraction equates to pointlessness. It’s the cringe-worthy 2024 horror-comedy “The Substance,” in which Demi Moore’s former starlet struggles to preserve her youth and beauty, (asexually) giving birth to a younger, hotter self. Goes through agony.