A Case For Seasoned Romance

Sandra
Antonelli

Mature women are fighting an image problem. We’re all aware of the concept of “Hollywood Old”, but there’s also “Romance Fiction Old.” Hi, I’m Sandra. I’m a Romance reader, a Romance author, and a Romance scholar. I write Romance novels where the couples are aged 40 and over, and I research the reason why there’s resistance to portraying mature-aged men and women—particularly women—as Romance heroes and heroines.What I noted in my research, and continue to observe in the Romance fiction industry, is that Romance Fiction Old is quite like Hollywood Old. Women on screen seem to stay the same age, and crossing the age line from the 30s to 40s sounds something of a death knell for the types of roles women are allowed to have.While leading men get to age and keep on being silver foxy leading men, women over 40 move to secondary roles, or become the standard images we’re accustomed to seeing onscreen: the mother, grandmother, crazy old lady, oversexed cougar, and the evil witch type. Mostly, though, older women disappear from view.

Read the entire article in the October 2016 issue of InD'Tale magazine.

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