In writing this post, I’m going to reveal that
yes, I’ve been watching a reality show, for those of you who look down on such
things, look away now. It may be a little low brow for you, but there we are,
we can’t always have our head in a volume of Marcel Proust.
Yes, I managed to boycott The X Factor this year
and Celebrity Big Brother, but I didn’t manage to ban all reality TV from my
viewing list. Shoot me, I’m human.
So the programme I’m going to talk about is ‘I’m A Celebrity, Get me Out of Here,” which has highlighted for me how women are viewed as they get older. In a small jungle camp in the middle of Australia we have a microcosm of the kind of ageism women are up against all the time.
I’ve been on Google and tried to see if anyone
else has picked up on it, but no, all I read about are the arguments and
endless disagreements, which I guess is all people really want to hear about.
So the two protagonists are Duncan Bannatyne and
Lady C. Yes, there’s been a lot of disagreements and a few insults thrown with
regards to those two, but let’s put that aside for a moment and just look at
them as two distinct individuals.
We have Duncan Bannatyne, a millionaire entrepreneur who is described by Vicky, our Geordie reality star from Geordie Shore, as a “sort” which is a Geordie way of saying he’s fit. There are comments about how attractive he is, and we are given the impression that he has sex appeal as far as the ladies are concerned. He is seen as being quite capable and physically fit enough to take part in any trials, and is treated in the same way as any other campmate. Duncan Bannatyne has not taken part in any bush tucker trials as yet.
Lady C is a colourful character who married
aristocracy and is from a distinguished Jamaican family. She is quite ballsy
and has fallen out with a few of the other campmates. She has taken part in
numerous trials after being voted to do them by the British public. She has won
several stars for at least two of what’s known as “bush tucker trials.”
She is treated by the other campmates as being
someone who needs to be taken care of as an older person. She can’t be left
alone because of her age, and this is commented upon more than once. Her age
and her supposed fragility is referred to in more than one conversation, not
just by the men, but the other women as well.
You would be forgiven for thinking that Duncan Bannatyne is considerably younger than Lady C. But he’s not – because they are both EXACTLY the same age. They are both 66.
So why are they both treated as if one is a sex
god, and the other one is ready for a nursing home? Could it explain, perhaps
why Lady C is always is in such a bad mood?
For me, it just reminds me of how deeply
entrenched such views are, not just by men, but by women as well. Men can pick
up younger women as they get older, they can reinvent themselves, and they can
run around like a teenager well into their 60s and 70s.
Women on the other hand are meant be quiet and
shut up as they enter their 40s, 50s and 60s. Don’t express your views, don’t
disagree, don’t have colourful opinions and just disappear.
Personally, I really hope Lady C wins “I’m A
Celebrity…..” and sticks it out till the bitter end, putting her fingers up to
the lot of them, although I think she’s done that once or twice already……
I'm also going to take a leaf out of Lady C's book and behave disgracefully as I get older - and I'll be wearing purple.
