On Gray Hair and Oppressed Brains

Gerike, Ann E.

doi:10.1300/j074v02n02_05

Cited by 22 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…In the USA, Gerike (1990) interpreted hair dyeing as a form of ' passing' that maintains a certain status and a link to those accorded greater privilege and social standing. This question of whether and to what extent they felt compelled to ' fight' ageing was a dilemma that many RoAD contributors reported to emerge as their hair turned grey.…”

Section: Dilemmas Of Ageingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Ward

Holland

2010

Ageing and Society

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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.

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Section: Dilemmas Of Ageingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Ward

Holland

2010

Ageing and Society

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“…27 What is the perceptual adjustment that would be needed for that older man to look, with unthreatened desire, at the older woman without fearing her as the Medusa who can turn him to stone? What, indeed, is the adjustment needed for we ageing women to be able to look at ourselves without alarm in our eyes, as sags and wrinkles appear: 'I despair of ever being able to reconcile my overall sense of well-being, self-confidence, achievement, and pleasure in the richness of the present with the image I see in the mirror', the US feminist Vivian Sobchack writes.…”

Section: Hazards Of Autonomymentioning

confidence: 99%

Forever Young: Medusa's Curse and the Discourses of Ageing1

Segal¹

2007

Women: A Cultural Review

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Wherever we look, inwards or outwards, calling upon literature, psychoanalysis, feminism or demographics, fear of aging is ubiquitous, especially fears of the aging female body. This has a special significance for feminists who, in earlier days of militancy, fought for (and helped secure) women's claims to sexual pleasure and more supportive sexual intimacies. The double standards, disparagements and sexual harassment variously faced down in youth, confronting the male-centred iconographies of sex and relationships, can threaten a mocking mutation into enduring disregard in the disparities appearing in the sexual options of women and men as they age. 'How did that single aspect … become a fixed -if regrettable -context, rather than being part of the world "we" have to change?', the feminist cultural critic, Lillian Robinson, has asked. It is not easy to answer her question.

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“…In recent years, mass media, in particular, have constructed youthful, thin bodies as desirable by linking youth and thinness to a variety of positive social characteristics (Gerike, 1990;Itzen, 1986;Spillman & Everington, 1989;Thompson & Hirschman, 1995;Ussher, 1989). Both cultural critics and researchers also have suggested that middle-aged and elderly women are under-represented in mainstream media presentations, and that when they are present, they often are portrayed as "incapable" and "unattractive" or are held up as examples of older women who, by virtue of their "young looks," should be admired and emulated (Apter, 1995;Chrisler & Ghiz, 1993;Gerike, 1990;Itzen, 1986;Nett, 1991;Ussher, 1989, p. 116). At the same time, cultural knowledge claims have presented the body as "a phenomenon of options" that is no longer limited by its biology, but instead, can be controlled and maintained through varied technologies, consumer products, and body regimens (Bordo, 1993;Featherstone, 1991;Shilling, 1993, p. 3;Spitzack, 1990;Thompson & Hirschman, 1995).…”

Section: The Body In Sociocultural Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Women are expected to be more interested in and sensitive to dress and appearance than are men (Freedman, 1986;Kaiser, 1997), and a woman's appearance often is assumed to be indicative of her character (Greenspan, 1983;Turner, 1984). Thus, in light of contemporary cultural discourses suggesting that it is both possible and desirable to take individual responsibility for the control of the body, individuals whose bodies deviate from the ideals of youth and thinness may be viewed as not only unattractive and asexual, but also as immoral, lazy, unhealthy, and/or lacking in selfdiscipline (Gerike, 1990;Ritenbaugh, 1982;Shilling, 1993;Turner, 1984).…”

Section: The Body In Sociocultural Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical Reflections on the Body and Related Sociocultural Discourses at the Midlife Transition: An Interpretive Study of Women's Experiences

Ogle

Damhorst

2005

J Adult Dev

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The present study explored how European American women in midlife transition think about their changing bodies and related sociocultural discourses. The work was informed by theory that illuminates a process in which middle-aged individuals critically evaluate the meaning structures used to make sense of the world and self and transform these schemes for personal relevance. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 women transitioning into their middle-aged years. Data were analyzed using constant comparison processes. Analyses revealed two major ideological adjustments in participants' thinking, including (a) the shift from an emphasis upon external to internal aspects of the self and (b) the questioning of dominant social discourses about the female body. Although these ideological shifts seemingly contributed to participants' acceptance of their bodies at midlife, participants also expressed ambivalence about their appearances and related social discourses.

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On Gray Hair and Oppressed Brains

Cited by 22 publications

References 2 publications

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

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

Forever Young: Medusa's Curse and the Discourses of Ageing1

Critical Reflections on the Body and Related Sociocultural Discourses at the Midlife Transition: An Interpretive Study of Women's Experiences

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