: In top films and TV from 2010–2020, only 1 in 4 characters aged 50+ were women.
: On broadcast television, major female characters drop from 42% in their 30s to just 15% in their 40s. 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,
The presence of women on screen declines sharply with age, a trend that does not affect their male counterparts as severely. The presence of women on screen declines sharply
: Streaming platforms show a similar decline, with major female characters falling from 33% in their 30s to 14% in their 40s.
: 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.
: Women 60 and older represent only 3% of major characters on both broadcast and streaming programs. Critical Character Tropes & Stereotypes