As Demi Moore speaks out about ageism in the Hollywood film industry, Jane Plunkett asks why men are considered attractive as they age, while older women are just regarded as over-the-hill

George Clooney, 48, with his greying hair and sun beaten features, hooks up with 28-year old Sarah Larson and the media calls her a ‘lucky girl’ to be dating such a stud.

Brad Pitt, 46, falls for Angelina Jolie, who is twelve years his junior, and nobody bats an eyelid about the age difference - they only sulk at how unfair it is the actress gets to be with one of the world’s sexiest men.  

But Demi Moore, 47, marries a younger man and is spitefully labelled the ‘older woman’ and excused of being a ‘cougar’ - a term coined to describe a woman over 40 who pursues younger men. In a candid recent interview with W magazine, actress Demi Moore discusses how she is negatively
targeted for her relationship with Ashton Kutcher -15 years her junior - and also points out how ageism is alive and kicking in the film industry - with Hollywood refusing to consider women in their forties as sexy enough for certain roles.

Meanwhile the Brad’s and George’s of the movie world continue to reap the roles and be worshiped on the pages of glossy magazines and newspapers.

“The frustrating part is that the type of roles I’d be interested in are not really coming to me,” Demi told W magazine.

“I hate to say it’s a function of my age - but yes, I think in some ways it is. The majority of female roles are geared between 25 and 35.”

Surgery or no surgery, Demi still looks fantastic for her age, so why is it that she - and many other women her age - are constantly considered ‘older women’ or ‘over-the-hill’, while men of a similar age bracket are still ‘sexy’?

Mark Harold, a 32-year-old Dubai moviegoer, says he doesn’t want to see a 47-year-old woman on the silver screen.

“Men don’t want to see ageing women playing sexy roles in movies. I would prefer to be looking at a younger actress than watch Demi Moore play the same part,” says Mark.

“It’s different for men. They look good when they are older - the greying hair and mature looks suit them better,” he adds.

Dubai-based cosmetic advisor Gail Clough, who celebrates her 44th birthday today and is loving getting older, says she imagines Demi’s not getting movies roles because she’s a terrible actress, not because of her age. But Moore’s acting skills aside, Gail believes it’s the women getting sexier as they age nowadays, not the men.

“I look around at guys my age and find that they are all fat and bald. With better facials, hair dyes, cosmetics and better awareness of wellbeing in general, women are looking fabulous these days,” says Gail.

“Go to a dinner party in Dubai and look at the women over forty and then at the men over forty, the women will look better than the men. I want a guy my own age, but I find that they just don’t take care of themselves.”

It’s true that women have more means by which to enhance and maintain their beauty these days, but Dubai-businessman Maz Himid, 34, says whether a woman is considered attractive or not still boils down to biology.

“No man in the world would consider Demi Moore over the hill.

She’s still incredibly sexy; more awareness of health, the rise of gym culture, botox - its all made older women much more sexy than they used to be. But the ‘cougar’ phenomenon is a natural development of this,” says Maz.  

“Also, women can have babies much later now, they are no longer considered past it at 33. Subconsciously, this plays a big factor for men, because we are all slaves to our genes. Males of all species naturally seek females that are fertile.

“That’s why ageing has never been such a big issue for men - men can remain fertile into their 90s. If they can give babies, women will find them attractive, whether they are aware of it or not. As women remain fertile longer into life, men will increasingly find older women attractive too.”