Jon Glynn-Hill

So that's how sex shows up and works in real life. But what about on TV and the big screen? The rise of the older woman as a sex symbol after this break. This is Explain It To Me, and now we're going to get into the depictions of middle-aged women on the screen. Things have gotten better, but is better enough? Is it realistic? That's what we wanted to ask Lisa Whittington-Hill. No relation.

So that's how sex shows up and works in real life. But what about on TV and the big screen? The rise of the older woman as a sex symbol after this break. This is Explain It To Me, and now we're going to get into the depictions of middle-aged women on the screen. Things have gotten better, but is better enough? Is it realistic? That's what we wanted to ask Lisa Whittington-Hill. No relation.

She's the author of Girls Interrupted, a book about the ways pop culture fails women. You know, we've been talking about this idea that women are hitting middle age and for one reason or another experiencing this newfound almost freedom around sex, you know, freedom from these hangups of their 20s, freedom from societal expectations of what sex could be, what it should look like.

She's the author of Girls Interrupted, a book about the ways pop culture fails women. You know, we've been talking about this idea that women are hitting middle age and for one reason or another experiencing this newfound almost freedom around sex, you know, freedom from these hangups of their 20s, freedom from societal expectations of what sex could be, what it should look like.

And I wonder how much of that has to do with what we're seeing in pop culture. You know, there's the baby girl of it all. There's the substance of it all, which was a huge commentary on women in aging.

And I wonder how much of that has to do with what we're seeing in pop culture. You know, there's the baby girl of it all. There's the substance of it all, which was a huge commentary on women in aging.

Do you think there's a there there? Is that something? Are there more portrayals of women in middle age?

Do you think there's a there there? Is that something? Are there more portrayals of women in middle age?

Yeah, it just seems, I don't know, like there's this major difference between and just like that and, I don't know, Golden Girls, which it's like, oh, these are about women in the same age range, which is so wild.

Yeah, it just seems, I don't know, like there's this major difference between and just like that and, I don't know, Golden Girls, which it's like, oh, these are about women in the same age range, which is so wild.

I kind of think of like when Obama was elected, everyone was like, oh, my gosh, we did it, y'all. No more racism. Cool. Everyone's like patting themselves on the back.

I kind of think of like when Obama was elected, everyone was like, oh, my gosh, we did it, y'all. No more racism. Cool. Everyone's like patting themselves on the back.

What does the data actually show when it comes to portrayals of, you know, older women in the media and pop culture in general? Sure.

What does the data actually show when it comes to portrayals of, you know, older women in the media and pop culture in general? Sure.

We talked to Marae Silcoff, who wrote that piece, about how Gen X women are kind of uniquely positioned to be freer about sex, thanks to kind of like all these different factors. Also, can I just say, Canadians, y'all are willing to go there in a way that Americans do not tend to be. Oh, yeah.

We talked to Marae Silcoff, who wrote that piece, about how Gen X women are kind of uniquely positioned to be freer about sex, thanks to kind of like all these different factors. Also, can I just say, Canadians, y'all are willing to go there in a way that Americans do not tend to be. Oh, yeah.

Let's talk about the movie Baby Girl. I understand you have some strong feelings about it. Did you think it sets kind of an unrealistic standard on what aging could and should be? Definitely.

Let's talk about the movie Baby Girl. I understand you have some strong feelings about it. Did you think it sets kind of an unrealistic standard on what aging could and should be? Definitely.

Nicole Kidman, one thing she's gonna do, she's gonna play a distressed rich white woman on either a prestige drama series or a movie.

Nicole Kidman, one thing she's gonna do, she's gonna play a distressed rich white woman on either a prestige drama series or a movie.

Do you think society and, you know, by extension, movies, TV, do you think society is ready to kind of like deal with a realistic depiction of the aging female body?

Do you think society and, you know, by extension, movies, TV, do you think society is ready to kind of like deal with a realistic depiction of the aging female body?

How hopeful are you that we'll get those portrayals as time goes on?

How hopeful are you that we'll get those portrayals as time goes on?

All right, Lisa, thank you so much for explaining this to us. You're welcome. That's it for this week's show. If you have a question for us, give us a call. Right now, we're working on some money related episodes and we'd love to know what questions you have about buying a home or using your credit card in this unpredictable economy. You can leave a voicemail at 1-800-618-8545.

All right, Lisa, thank you so much for explaining this to us. You're welcome. That's it for this week's show. If you have a question for us, give us a call. Right now, we're working on some money related episodes and we'd love to know what questions you have about buying a home or using your credit card in this unpredictable economy. You can leave a voicemail at 1-800-618-8545.

or send an email to askvox at vox.com. Bonus points if that email is a voice memo. This episode was produced and sound designed by Victoria Chamberlain. It was edited by Miranda Kennedy, fact-checked by Melissa Hirsch, and engineered by Patrick Boyd and Andrea Christensdottir, who also composed the music. I'm your host, Jon Glenn Hill. Thanks for listening. Talk to you soon. Bye!

or send an email to askvox at vox.com. Bonus points if that email is a voice memo. This episode was produced and sound designed by Victoria Chamberlain. It was edited by Miranda Kennedy, fact-checked by Melissa Hirsch, and engineered by Patrick Boyd and Andrea Christensdottir, who also composed the music. I'm your host, Jon Glenn Hill. Thanks for listening. Talk to you soon. Bye!

Mireille's piece in the New York Times magazine resonated. It went viral, and it seems like it's definitely ringing true. I mean, she got a book deal out of it. But how common is her experience really? We asked you what it's been like navigating sex in your 40s and 50s, and listener Sarah answered.

Mireille's piece in the New York Times magazine resonated. It went viral, and it seems like it's definitely ringing true. I mean, she got a book deal out of it. But how common is her experience really? We asked you what it's been like navigating sex in your 40s and 50s, and listener Sarah answered.

She called in from Chicago, and she's been having a great time dating and not looking for a relationship in this era of her life.

She called in from Chicago, and she's been having a great time dating and not looking for a relationship in this era of her life.

So who are you into these days? What does your ideal look like? Do you have a type?

So who are you into these days? What does your ideal look like? Do you have a type?

I feel like older women and younger guys is kind of a thing that's going on right now, you know, in movies and TV.

I feel like older women and younger guys is kind of a thing that's going on right now, you know, in movies and TV.

Is that something you're seeing too? And do you see it in your friend group or does it just seem like, you know, a pop culture thing?

Is that something you're seeing too? And do you see it in your friend group or does it just seem like, you know, a pop culture thing?

Does it seem like sex is better for you now than it was when you were in your 20s?

Does it seem like sex is better for you now than it was when you were in your 20s?

Do you think it's kind of like a you're only as old as you feel thing? I mean, I don't know. It's just the way that like 40s and 50s are represented now are so different. Like we used to have golden girls and now like, I don't know, JLo is like spinning on a pole at 50, you know? They're killing it out there.

Do you think it's kind of like a you're only as old as you feel thing? I mean, I don't know. It's just the way that like 40s and 50s are represented now are so different. Like we used to have golden girls and now like, I don't know, JLo is like spinning on a pole at 50, you know? They're killing it out there.

So things have gotten better for women in their 40s and 50s. But why? What's so different between the dating scene in 2025 and the dating scene in 1995? That's after the break. This is Explained to Me. I'm John Glenn Hill, and we're back talking about sex, women, and aging. Murray says that things were different in the 80s and 90s. It was a lot harder to navigate sex as a woman.

So things have gotten better for women in their 40s and 50s. But why? What's so different between the dating scene in 2025 and the dating scene in 1995? That's after the break. This is Explained to Me. I'm John Glenn Hill, and we're back talking about sex, women, and aging. Murray says that things were different in the 80s and 90s. It was a lot harder to navigate sex as a woman.

Sexual harassment at work ran rampant. We did not talk about consent then the way we do now. And that was the basis for Gen X's formative sexual years. It was weird and messy and confusing and often dangerous in ways things aren't as much now.

Sexual harassment at work ran rampant. We did not talk about consent then the way we do now. And that was the basis for Gen X's formative sexual years. It was weird and messy and confusing and often dangerous in ways things aren't as much now.

Hey, y'all. I'm Jon Glynn-Hill, and this is Explain It To Me. Today, we're talking about doing it, specifically middle-aged ladies doing it and doing it well.

Hey, y'all. I'm Jon Glynn-Hill, and this is Explain It To Me. Today, we're talking about doing it, specifically middle-aged ladies doing it and doing it well.

Why do you think this is happening with Gen X women in particular? Why is this generation so different from boomers?

Why do you think this is happening with Gen X women in particular? Why is this generation so different from boomers?

Okay, so you're a Gen X woman living in a Gen Z world. You get to take advantage of the good and the bad. You're dating. How have you been doing on the apps? I did both.

Okay, so you're a Gen X woman living in a Gen Z world. You get to take advantage of the good and the bad. You're dating. How have you been doing on the apps? I did both.

I love that. Yes, first boyfriend post-marriage. Yes.

I love that. Yes, first boyfriend post-marriage. Yes.

This week, we're giving some attention to a generation that we don't talk about much, Gen X. We're starting off with Mireille Silcoff, who wrote a piece about her own experiences with aging and one of the ways that getting older has been pretty great.

This week, we're giving some attention to a generation that we don't talk about much, Gen X. We're starting off with Mireille Silcoff, who wrote a piece about her own experiences with aging and one of the ways that getting older has been pretty great.

What do you hope for middle-aged women moving forward, especially when it comes to sex, when it comes to desire, when it comes to relationships?

What do you hope for middle-aged women moving forward, especially when it comes to sex, when it comes to desire, when it comes to relationships?

So that's how middle-aged women are feeling about sex. But is this awakening just social or is there something biological to it?

So that's how middle-aged women are feeling about sex. But is this awakening just social or is there something biological to it?

Okay, so remember how Murray said that middle-aged women are sometimes surprised to find that everything's still working down there? Dr. Jenkins-Hall told us there's a reason for that.

Okay, so remember how Murray said that middle-aged women are sometimes surprised to find that everything's still working down there? Dr. Jenkins-Hall told us there's a reason for that.

So that's how sex shows up and works in real life. But what about on TV and the big screen? The rise of the older woman as a sex symbol after this break. This is Explain It To Me, and now we're going to get into the depictions of middle-aged women on the screen. Things have gotten better, but is better enough? Is it realistic? That's what we wanted to ask Lisa Whittington-Hill. No relation.

She's the author of Girls Interrupted, a book about the ways pop culture fails women. You know, we've been talking about this idea that women are hitting middle age and for one reason or another experiencing this newfound almost freedom around sex, you know, freedom from these hangups of their 20s, freedom from societal expectations of what sex could be, what it should look like.

And I wonder how much of that has to do with what we're seeing in pop culture. You know, there's the baby girl of it all. There's the substance of it all, which was a huge commentary on women in aging.

Do you think there's a there there? Is that something? Are there more portrayals of women in middle age?

Yeah, it just seems, I don't know, like there's this major difference between and just like that and, I don't know, Golden Girls, which it's like, oh, these are about women in the same age range, which is so wild.

I kind of think of like when Obama was elected, everyone was like, oh, my gosh, we did it, y'all. No more racism. Cool. Everyone's like patting themselves on the back.

What does the data actually show when it comes to portrayals of, you know, older women in the media and pop culture in general? Sure.

We talked to Marae Silcoff, who wrote that piece, about how Gen X women are kind of uniquely positioned to be freer about sex, thanks to kind of like all these different factors. Also, can I just say, Canadians, y'all are willing to go there in a way that Americans do not tend to be. Oh, yeah.

Let's talk about the movie Baby Girl. I understand you have some strong feelings about it. Did you think it sets kind of an unrealistic standard on what aging could and should be? Definitely.

Nicole Kidman, one thing she's gonna do, she's gonna play a distressed rich white woman on either a prestige drama series or a movie.

Do you think society and, you know, by extension, movies, TV, do you think society is ready to kind of like deal with a realistic depiction of the aging female body?

How hopeful are you that we'll get those portrayals as time goes on?

All right, Lisa, thank you so much for explaining this to us. You're welcome. That's it for this week's show. If you have a question for us, give us a call. Right now, we're working on some money related episodes and we'd love to know what questions you have about buying a home or using your credit card in this unpredictable economy. You can leave a voicemail at 1-800-618-8545.

or send an email to askvox at vox.com. Bonus points if that email is a voice memo. This episode was produced and sound designed by Victoria Chamberlain. It was edited by Miranda Kennedy, fact-checked by Melissa Hirsch, and engineered by Patrick Boyd and Andrea Christensdottir, who also composed the music. I'm your host, Jon Glenn Hill. Thanks for listening. Talk to you soon. Bye!

Mireille's piece in the New York Times magazine resonated. It went viral, and it seems like it's definitely ringing true. I mean, she got a book deal out of it. But how common is her experience really? We asked you what it's been like navigating sex in your 40s and 50s, and listener Sarah answered.

She called in from Chicago, and she's been having a great time dating and not looking for a relationship in this era of her life.

So who are you into these days? What does your ideal look like? Do you have a type?

I feel like older women and younger guys is kind of a thing that's going on right now, you know, in movies and TV.

Is that something you're seeing too? And do you see it in your friend group or does it just seem like, you know, a pop culture thing?

Does it seem like sex is better for you now than it was when you were in your 20s?

Do you think it's kind of like a you're only as old as you feel thing? I mean, I don't know. It's just the way that like 40s and 50s are represented now are so different. Like we used to have golden girls and now like, I don't know, JLo is like spinning on a pole at 50, you know? They're killing it out there.

So things have gotten better for women in their 40s and 50s. But why? What's so different between the dating scene in 2025 and the dating scene in 1995? That's after the break. This is Explained to Me. I'm John Glenn Hill, and we're back talking about sex, women, and aging. Murray says that things were different in the 80s and 90s. It was a lot harder to navigate sex as a woman.

Sexual harassment at work ran rampant. We did not talk about consent then the way we do now. And that was the basis for Gen X's formative sexual years. It was weird and messy and confusing and often dangerous in ways things aren't as much now.

Hey, y'all. I'm Jon Glynn-Hill, and this is Explain It To Me. Today, we're talking about doing it, specifically middle-aged ladies doing it and doing it well.

Why do you think this is happening with Gen X women in particular? Why is this generation so different from boomers?

Okay, so you're a Gen X woman living in a Gen Z world. You get to take advantage of the good and the bad. You're dating. How have you been doing on the apps? I did both.

I love that. Yes, first boyfriend post-marriage. Yes.

This week, we're giving some attention to a generation that we don't talk about much, Gen X. We're starting off with Mireille Silcoff, who wrote a piece about her own experiences with aging and one of the ways that getting older has been pretty great.

What do you hope for middle-aged women moving forward, especially when it comes to sex, when it comes to desire, when it comes to relationships?

So that's how middle-aged women are feeling about sex. But is this awakening just social or is there something biological to it?

Okay, so remember how Murray said that middle-aged women are sometimes surprised to find that everything's still working down there? Dr. Jenkins-Hall told us there's a reason for that.