That’s so true! When I’m watching or reading a story and a small child says something that sound “too old” for them, I wonder how realistic that dialogue is. There are two 5-years-old in my family, the boy seems to be always in a different conversation (LOL!), but the girl though has an “older” vocabulary, her interests are those of a child, and she doesn’t have the answer to life, the universe, and everything (I’ve asked. Ha, ha!)
Elderly persons clichés? 1. They spend their time watching TV and yelling at it (some fit this cliché, though). 2. They only talk about their ailments and the past. 3. Love and sex are a distant memory for them. 4. They can’t study or learn something new. 5. They can’t deal with: technology, new ideas. 6. They’re either incredibly wise and serene or unbearably bitter and cranky.

There are not many TV shows about elderly people, but one of the best I’ve watched was “Last Tango in Halifax”. I think it successfully departs from almost all the clichés of my list. Beautiful story.

The two age groups misrepresented the most in unpublished novels and spec screenplays in my experience are children/teens and people over 75. Children frequently seem ‘too old’ and have vocabularies that don’t ring true. My son had an extended vocab as a child but he was still just a kid. The over 65s are frequently unable to do everyday things like deal with simple technology like operate a mobile phone! Yet the average elderly person will have had a mobile for a good 20 years, plus many love the internet. Hope that helps.

Then we agree 🤷‍♀️

“Showing how a female lead rises above the constraints is valid” – absolutely, which is why I also give examples like Gloria from MODERN FAMILY in the post, plus I also concede women DO talk about men in the post. The key is not to do the things listed here at the expense of nuanced characterisation. That is how you get stereotypes – it’s a simplification.

It’s true, women talk about the men in their lives; the thing is we don’t talk just about men and that’s the stereotype to avoid. Even if it’s a romance or a romantic comedy and the female characters only talk about the male characters, it’s a stereotype. The story has to pass the Bechdel test (It asks whether a work features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man). Of course, a story may pass the test and still contain sexist content.

Clothing, if well used, can be a great way to get across personality types. If I described a guy as “wearing his beat up jeans, steel toed boots, and a flannel with a rip at the elbow and loose threads where the top button used to be,” that would give you an idea of his personality before the character says a word. The same is true of women in writing.

All that said, I absolutely do agree that if a writer is depending on *just* the clothes, that’s weak sauce and the writer needs to improve their craft.

That’s a great idea. I would love to see a list on disability stereotypes. I have been lucky enough to have a few disabled Bang2writers share their knowledge on my site but have not had someone with Down’s Syndrome do so yet.

You’re very welcome. Best of luck with your projects! 😀