Look what happens when women take control of TV
This started out as an essay about the representation of older women on our screens but ended up as a love letter to Bad Sisters
A few weeks ago I was talking to someone (I wish I could remember who, brain fog) about the sex lives of older women. Or more accurately the representation of them in visual media. She (sorry, if it was you please shout and I’ll credit you) mentioned the actor Yootha Joyce. Or more accurately, the character she played, Mildred, in the 70s sitcom staple, George & Mildred. If you are not a Brit over 50 you will likely not have a clue who I’m talking about. Don’t bother yourself. All you need to know is that the British sitcom scene was not exactly known for its open-mindedness in the 70s and 80s (or 60s or 90s) and George & Mildred, which ran for five seasons from 1976 until Joyce’s death in 1980, was typical of its genre.
It had one (lame) gag and had no shame about working it to death. It was this: a frustrated middle-aged house wife (Mildred) tries to get her (frankly deeply dull and unattractive) husband (George, obv) to have sex with her. Or at the very least show her some affection. And guess who the joke was on? The libidinous woman who at her age should have known better. Oh, how we laughed. The truth is, I was ten years old at the time, and I probably did laugh. Because, come on. Fortysomething? Fifty even? You might as well be dead, not trying to get your leg over (or under). Such is tween wisdom.
Anyway, now I’m at a point where 40 is a distant memory and I will certainly not see 50 again, I inevitably see it somewhat differently. And what I see in Mildred is all the women in midlife struggling with the “Is this it?” conundrum; women who tell me that they feel life is all still to play for, but the men in their lives are looking forward to putting their feet up. Women like Stephanie, who I have quoted repeatedly since I spoke to her when I was researching The Shift book, “My husband – bless him – just wants a simple life – a shag, two bottles of wine, Kung Pao prawns and golf most days, stopping off for three pints on the way home – but that’s his dream life. It’s not mine.”
All the women of 40, 50, 60 and beyond who, until very recently, have struggled to see themselves represented even remotely realistically on our screens.