‘I played by all the rules! Why didn’t you tell me there weren’t any rules, it’s not fair!’:contradiction, corporeality, and conformity in Grace and Frankie¹

ABSTRACT

¹Netflix show, Grace and Frankie, is significant in its representation of ageing. While it may appear ground-breaking to see people in their seventies and eighties navigating (re)invention of self and sexuality within mainstream media, upon closer inspection–in particular, Season Four–the inherent contradictions common to postfeminist texts are exposed. Initial offerings from Grace and Frankie extend to positive representations of ageing sexuality, female agency, and self-efficacy; however, these themes are rather negated as the seasons progress. Such incongruities feature notions of what might be considered as effective ageing: a dualism in which ageing femininity is both celebrated and fought; discourses of empowerment via rigorous, yet relatively ineffective, corporeal self-maintenance/somatic discipline; a sexualised ‘feminism’ which also features the women as variously alone, but dependent upon their ex-husbands, each other, or their children; and a postfeminist ‘makeover’ paradigm in which the pendulum swings between preservation and restoration, individualism and conformity. Albeit within neoliberal and postfeminist discourses, Grace and Frankie, while flawed, remains an important text in which visibly ageing bodies, ageing sexuality, and non-normative identification are elevated and explored.

KEYWORDS:

• Grace and Frankie
• ageing sexuality
• postfeminism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Mainstream media includes traditional print or broadcast products which are produced for profit and recycle, rather than to directly or explicitly challenge, cultural hegemonies (Chandler and Munday 2016).

2. Grace Hansen (S4: E4).

3. The dominant assumption and normalisation of binary sexual identities–male or female–which operate complementarily to exclude, marginalise or suppress gender diversity. Heteronormativity presents itself as, natural and fixed, offering limited roles which are reinforced through formalities which require individuals to identify as either a man or woman (Griffin 2017). Homonormativity can be understood as a politics which fails to challenge such heteronormative ideologies and institutions. Consequently, it is argued that homonormativity promises ‘the possibility of a demobilized gay constituency and a privatised, depoliticised gay culture anchored in domesticity and consumption’ (Duggan 2003 in Mayhew 2015).

4. Grace Hanson (‘The Expiration Date’ 2018).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Amanda Fiedler

Amanda Fiedler researches media feminisms, queer subjectivities and the representation of ageing in media. Her current research focuses on the intersection of non-normative subjectivities and science fiction television. Email: [email protected]

Sarah Casey

Sarah Casey lectures in Screen Media and Communication at University of the Sunshine Coast. She leads the Real Stories of Country Women projects which document the lived experiences of women in drought-affected communities. Her research interests also include digital feminist activism, media feminisms, and celebrity activism.  Sarah is the Vice-President of the Australian Women’s and Gender Studies Association. Email: [email protected]. Twitter:@sarahjcasey; @feministingoz