Judith Lucy Is All Woman

Judith Lucy used to think that when she grew up, men and women would be equal and we’d all be dancing around maypoles. But as she hurtles into middle age, it seems like it’s only the chicks who are doing the pole dancing, and Judith is focused on one big question - just how different is life in Australia for men and women? To find out, she rigs up a rubber penis and hits her local watering hole disguised as a man, in an attempt to understand if what’s in your pants determines your success.

When Judith Lucy’s mother was young, women were courted by men, got married and had kids – full stop. Judith herself did things a bit differently, describing her dating life in her 20s as “a waking nightmare of stupidity and drunken regret”. But now that she’s in her 40s, she’s mystified about the mating rituals of young women and men in Australia.

Judith Lucy doesn’t have kids. Her desire to have them lasted about a nanosecond. But with motherhood intrinsic in so many women’s lives, she’s keen to get a taste of what it could be like, and takes charge of her very own baby – a plastic, African American robot child named Lucy Junior. Lucy Junior needs diligent care, but will Judith pass the test and be a good mum?

If she’d been born one generation earlier, Judith Lucy’s career options probably would have ranged all the way from housewife to hairdresser. Even her chosen career of standup comedy was a pretty blokey world when she entered it, and Australia still has one of the most segregated workforces in the world – e.g. plumbers will more than likely be men, while 90% of nurses are women.

Hurtling towards midlife is a shock for anyone, and Judith Lucy discovers that being a woman in the public eye makes it even more confronting. Model and media personality Deborah Hutton talks candidly about ageing in front of the camera, while funny lady Denise Scott reveals she didn’t realise she’d been photoshopped for years.

With women generally outliving men, Judith Lucy tries to get an idea of what her life might be like in 20 years time. She takes to the streets as an elderly woman and soon realises she needs some advice on becoming a senior, so she catches up with 91-year-old actor and friend Lois Ramsey for some advice on how to grow old gracefully.