Photo by Flickr user JoeBehrPalmSprings. Used under a Creative Commons license.

Lynne Murray of Body Impolitic says of the 2002 documentary entitled Searching for Debra Winger directed by Rosanna Arquette.

Arquette interviewed “older” actresses, who are essentially an endangered species in Hollywood.

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As the actresses in Searching point out in amusing, though crazy-making examples, getting a part or not getting a part will often depend on whether the male decision maker deems them as “fuckable.”

Daryl Hannah came close to the issue when she talked about how, when she played the mother of a teenager, she was required to wear an ugly brown wig and flour-sack-style, shapeless dress. Her question was, why can’t mothers of teenagers look like the beautiful, blondes at the table? Well, yeah, some do. But the deeper question is why is only blonde and thin is deemed desirable at any age? Whoopi Goldberg addressed this question with total candor. “Aunts are cool. Aunts fuck,” she said. “Grandmas fuck.” To quote Jan and Dean, “Go Granny, go!” It was well worth watching the DVD just to hear Whoopi Goldberg’s comments.

Read the whole post here.

It’s kind of a good question, eh? It’s not even that it’s stupid or short-sighted to pigenhole actresses so narrowly. (Murray’s post quotes from The First Wive’s Club, “There are only three ages for women in Hollywood – Babe, District Attorney, and Driving Miss Daisy.”) It’s also (excuse me for being crass and seemingly single-minded) stupid and short-sighted to pigenhole the definition of “fuckability.” Or even “babe.” (And at least nobody in the article mentioned the risible “cougar,” which seems to mean someone who’s still interested in sex even though she’s old enough to buy her own car and not just drive one.)