: In top films and TV from 2010–2020, only 1 in 4 characters aged 50+ were women.
: Women 60 and older represent only 3% of major characters on both broadcast and streaming programs. Critical Character Tropes & Stereotypes milfinternal gallery
: A 2025 report from the Geena Davis Institute found that only 6% of top-grossing films mentioned menopause; when it appeared, it was frequently used as a punchline or to portray characters as irrational ("meno-rage"). : In top films and TV from 2010–2020,
When mature women are cast, their roles often lean on outdated or harmful tropes rather than nuanced agency. When mature women are cast, their roles often
: Most older female characters in popular films are white, middle-class, and heterosexual, with almost no representation for ethnic or sexual minorities in this age bracket. Industry & Behind-the-Scenes Trends Beyond the Stereotypes: The Reality of Aging Women in Films
: Roles often default to "the Shrew," "the Golden Ager," or depictions of senility and physical frailty. Older women are four times more likely to be portrayed as "senile" than older men.
The presence of women on screen declines sharply with age, a trend that does not affect their male counterparts as severely.