WWW [OC Register]- Just a year ago, on this same date and in this same space, I lamented the banishment of women from the television screen once they’ve passed the age cusp of 60 years.
And, indeed, that banishment seems to continue, although there are glimmers of change on the horizon.
As 73 million boomers start easing into their sixth decade, the biggest news in entertainment programming is the sudden sexual desirability of women old enough to be somebody’s grandmother.
Ladies over 50 are returning to stardom – showcasing their talents in granny-fetish porn films, the latest hot ticket in the naughty cinema world, according to The New York Times.
I don’t know whether to feel vindicated or violated.
De’Bella, as she’s identified in print, began donning bright pink satin and black chiffon nighties with matching thongs when she was 50. She says she wanted to do something different and “I love sex.”
She has eyelids and cheeks that have succumbed to gravity, the Times reports. She has rippled skin on her belly left over from childbirth. And she mostly ends up on a couch with young men under 20.
Why young men? Because they are reportedly the ones buying this stuff.
Oh spare my liberated libido!
I guess I should have anticipated sex would be the breakthrough. “Desperate Housewives” showcases sexy 40-somethings. Not every older woman is a Rubenesque Kathy Bates, Jack Nicholson’s hot tub partner in “About Schmidt.”
Yet, who thought, in one year, that the “mature-woman” video porn category would end up with its own category at the 2007 AVN awards, the reported Oscars of the skin trade.
According to the news article, granny sex queens only last a few years before losing their sizzle, however. Men, on the other hand, stand tall in the business even after age 60.
Let’s not get into a discussion about why it’s always older men and young girls or vice versa. I could suggest the sight of two saggy/baggy booties bouncing in sexual ecstasy is more than even the lustiest porn watcher can endure. But that would be belittling all of us past “the cusp.”
There are reports a 67-year-old Spanish woman just gave birth to twins. In New York City, life coach Aleta St. James, now 59, is busy mothering her twins born when she was a few days shy of her 56th birthday.
Sure, she used in vitro fertilization, but does that make her any less of a first-time mother?
“I am more patient and selfless than I have ever been,” she says. “Love is ageless.”
St. James says “you are never too old to live your dreams” and promotes life fulfillment on her Web site, http://aletastjames.com.
Still, when it comes to “serious television,” men are still heralded as “traditional golden oldies” and are able to shoulder on in prime television well into their 70s and 80s. Mike Wallace was 88 when he retired from “60 Minutes” last year. Dick Clark is 76 and still hosting the Rockin’ New Year’s Eve party. Bob Eubanks is 68 and was still the lead commentator for this year’s KTLA/5 Rose Bowl telecast.
But this year Stephanie Edwards, 63, banished last year from the Rose Parade anchor booth because she was “over the cusp,” wasn’t commentating on KTLA/5 despite hundreds of protest letters to the station. Indeed, only Barbara Walters, 77, is still going strong on “The View.”
Not even the granny-porn stars are able to get a job after 60.
As I said last year, when are we going to be celebrated for just acting our age?