Sandra Antonelli

Foxy Doesn't End At Forty

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Re-education Starts…Now

In the nearly ten years since I completed my doctoral work that focused on ageism and the lack of representation of women over the age of 40 as romantic leads/heroines, I thought it might be time to look back and see if we’ve, like Fatboy Slim and the old Virginia Slims ads said, “come a…

ASandraAntonelli

In the nearly ten years since I completed my doctoral work that focused on ageism and the lack of representation of women over the age of 40 as romantic leads/heroines, I thought it might be time to look back and see if we’ve, like Fatboy Slim and the old Virginia Slims ads said, “come a long way, baby.” I’m compiling my thoughts, and the thoughts from a few others who have written about older women in romance fiction and film and popular media, the romance publishing industry, ageism, sexism, stereotypes, intersectionality, gender bias, fat-shaming, ethnicity… well, you get where I am coming from and where I am going.

Please stay tuned.

I know it has been a while since I’ve gotten up on my soapbox and roared about women, ageism, and the entertainment media. Roaring has been a challenge since I, literally, lost my voice thanks to the C-word I hate more than the other c-word, which I actually have no issue with using. I will say the Long C word is BORING AF, and over the last 2 1/2 years, my life has been a tilt-a-whirl-rollercoaster of the unexpected, as it has been for many. However, there have been lots of good things that happened to me too. I have come a long way, baby, and know I have a bit further to go. It’s all best done in small steps that celebrate me, baby.

My apologies to Fatboy Slim.

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4 responses to “Re-education Starts…Now”

  1. JenM Avatar
    JenM

    So sorry to hear that you’ve been dealing with long C. Sending good wishes your way from San Francisco. Although there is still a long way to go, it does seem to me that baby steps have been taken in the genre fiction I read (mainly romance and paranormal) to have a wider variety of female characters, not just in age but also in different body types, ethnicities, etc. Self-publishing has really helped open the door there, both by producing books with characters we want to read about but also by proving to the risk averse, change resistant larger publishers that there really is a market for them.

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    1. ASandraAntonelli Avatar
      ASandraAntonelli

      Thanks, Jen.
      I appreciate your good wishes and comment. I will be discussing resistance to change and the importance of change very soon.

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      Reply
  2. shallowreader Avatar
    shallowreader

    I’m all eyes (I don’t need to hear you if I can read you!)

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    1. ASandraAntonelli Avatar
      ASandraAntonelli

      Thank you! I may hit you up for a comments or two.

      Liked by 1 person

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