Many Greek women over 45 are pushing back against long-held stereotypes of invisibility and asexuality often imposed by Western society. In a world where youth dominates the spotlight, these women are reclaiming their agency and redefining what it means to be visible, desirable, and empowered.
On Wednesday, 6 November 2025, Professor Liza Tsaliki from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens will explore these issues in a free public talk titled Still Seen, Still Desired: Women Over 45 in Western Society and the Role of Media and Culture, the event will delve into how women over 45 are portrayed—and often marginalised—across media and celebrity culture.
“Ageing women’s sexuality is not a contradiction—it’s a continuation of self-expression and agency,” Professor Tsaliki notes in her research. “It’s time we moved beyond the idea that visibility and desirability belong only to the young.”
Professor Tsaliki, Head of the Department of Communication and Media Studies at the University of Athens, is a leading expert on media, identity, and popular culture. Her internationally recognised work examines political participation, celebrity , gender, technology, and constructions of femininity. Professor Tsakiki has a reputation as a scholar of citizenship and participation, with a focus on pornography, celebrity, and celebrity activism. The cultural studies expert is interested in issues of gender and technology, sexuality, constructions of femininity, television narratives, and debates about children’s and young people’s everyday practices and consumption.
In her Melbourne talk, she will discuss the contradictions ageing women face: being seen as asexual, expected to care for both children and ageing parents while remaining professionally active and socially relevant. In societies where youth is glorified, she argues, the sexuality of older women is often perceived as subversive—a form of power that challenges narrow cultural scripts about desire and femininity.
Drawing on examples from Greek popular culture, including music icons Kaiti Garbi, Despina Vandi, Anna Vissi, and television personality Eleni Menegaki, Professor Tsaliki will highlight how these women assert visibility and allure while rejecting impossible beauty standards. Their public presence, she suggests, offers alternative models of empowered femininity—resonating with women in Greece and the diaspora alike.
The Melbourne event promises to be a compelling discussion about how media and culture shape perceptions of ageing and desire—and how women over 45 continue to challenge, subvert, and redefine them.
The event is presented by Neos Kosmos, RMIT’s School of Media and Communication and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Event Details
When: Thursday, 6 November 2025
Where: RMIT Kaleide Theatre, Swanston Street, Melbourne CBD
Presented by: Neos Kosmos, RMIT School of Media and Communication, and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Free event, limited spaces. For tickets and information visit this link.
