Missing: Women aged 40+ in advertising and marketing materials – University of Birmingham

University of Birmingham research explores the changes that have been made over the past decades when it comes to older female representation in our culture, particularly in film and advertising. However, the study finds the experiences of middle-aged women are still missing. 

The study has been published in a book chapter featured in Responsible Marketing for Well-being and Society.

Dr Julie Whiteman, Lecturer in Marketing at Birmingham Business School who led the research, said: “It will come as no surprise to women young and old that there is a societal double standard when it comes to how we view ageing for men and women. For women, we are held to an impossible-to-reach heterosexual and Eurocentric standard, intersecting our age, femininity, and sexuality. 

“My research has found that even though there have been improvements over recent years when it comes to representation of older and more diverse women in media, this does not extend to middle-aged women, who are underrepresented in favour of stereotypes of younger and older women.” 

Dr Whiteman argues that representations of women in marketing and film have been condensed into the younger, desirable woman and then the ‘sexy oldie’ who rejects her ageing, or the ‘asexual older woman’ who is not seen as an attractive or sexual being. 

This marketing approach has had real consequences for important studies and public policy/understanding. For example, the UK National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles has its final age ranges varying from 59 (1990–1991) to 44 (1999–2001), then 74 (2010–2012), before reverting to 59 in 2022–2023. This misses a huge chunk of our ageing population. 

She goes on to say that these problematic and often unrelatable types of women mean that women aged 40+ are being symbolically annihilated by ‘patriarchal marketing’, which can harm people’s self-esteem and well-being. 

Dr Whiteman concluded: “It is well documented that representation matters. That by seeing ourselves realistically reflected in our media and culture, it improves our self-esteem and mental health. The opposite is also true, when we do not see ourselves honestly reflected, it hurts how we view ourselves. Marketers are among the people who create the media, and they have a responsibility to create definitions that challenge negative and damaging stereotypes, if not lead the way in creating positive and liberatory visions that foster inclusivity.”