‘If I look old, I will be treated old’: hair and later-life image dilemmas

Abstract

This paper considers the social symbolism of hair, how it is managed and styled in later life, and what attitudes to appearance in general and hairstyling in particular reveal about ageism in contemporary culture. The paper draws on findings from a two-year, nationwide, participative study of age discrimination in the United Kingdom, the Research on Age Discrimination (RoAD) project. Using data collected by qualitative methods, including participant diaries and interviews undertaken by older field-workers, the paper explores narratives of image and appearance related to hair and associated social responses. The paper focuses on older people's accounts of the dual processes of the production of an image and consumption of a service with reference to hairdressing -and the dilemmas these pose in later life. The findings are considered in the context of the emerging debate on the ageing body. The discussion underlines how the bodies of older people are central to their experience of discrimination and social marginalisation, and examines the relevance of the body and embodiment to the debate on discrimination. A case is made for further scrutiny of the significance of hairdressing to the lives of older people and for the need to challenge the assumption that everyday aspects of daily life are irrelevant to the policies and interventions that counter age discrimination and promote equality.

Aging in America: Ageism and General Attitudes toward Growing Old and the Elderly

“…This is also supported by other researchers that have found that the media perpetuates harmful stereotypes and promotes negative attitudes toward the elderly [4] [19]. There appears to be a fear of aging in society that causes people to experience a sense of negativity toward the elderly and a general sense of anxiety about getting older [6].…”

“…They explained this through a larger historical perspective that looked at issues with cultural tolerance, industrialization, conflict over resources, and overall contact (the contact hypothesis) and found that although Western societies also hold mixed attitudes toward their elderly members, those in the East seem to have a more negative disposition toward their elderly members [21]. This last point is interesting because there appears to be a strong feeling that older males are viewed more favorably than older females (e.g., less dependent, more autonomous, more competent, mores self-reliant), and women appear to be viewed as less attractive, less productive, and less intelligent [19] [20] [21]. It is widely believed that traditional belief systems and contemporary media play into these negative and harmful beliefs.…”

‘Gonna make yer gorgeous’: Everyday transformation, resistance and belonging in the care-based hair salon

“…Similarly, we suggest that the mutual recognition and supportiveness displayed by salon clients, often facilitated by the hairdresser, can be understood as a response not only to the social isolation experienced/imposed within care settings but as resistance to the broader imposition of social invisibility upon older women (Ward and Holland 2011;Hurd-Clarke and Korotchenko 2010). In this respect our findings echo those of Furman…”

‘So long as there's hair there still’: displaying lack of interest as a practice for negotiating social norms of appearance for older women

“…In undertaking their various appearance practices older women face a number of challenges. Prime among these is managing to ‘grow old gracefully’ – striking the balance between doing too little or too much for their appearance (Furman 1997: 116; Hurd Clarke, Griffin and Maliha 2009; Jankowski et al 2016; Ward and Holland 2011). Women who do too little, particularly if they have the means at their disposal to take action, may at best meet with disapprobation for having ‘let themselves go’ (Brooks 2010; Coupland 2009), or at worst, find they are treated as invisible (Bytheway et al 2007: 31).…”