Women’s grey hair as an abomination of the body

Cecil, Vanessa; Pendry, Louise F.; Salvatore, Jessica; Kurz, Timothy Robert

doi:10.4324/9780429505430-9

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Our analysis built upon preliminary commentaries regarding the difficulties that participants encountered as they transitioned to gray hair, namely stigmatization, the dilemma of contradictory societal expectations and the extra work entailed in trying to conform to them (Cecil et al, 2018). In the current study we approached the coding and generation of themes mindful of the main enquiries of our research: participants' motivations to stop dyeing their hair and their experiences of doing so.…”

Section: Analytic Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gendered ageism and gray hair: must older women choose between feeling authentic and looking competent?

Cecil

Pendry

Salvatore

et al. 2021

Journal of Women & Aging

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Aging women frequently use hair dye to disguise their age in order to avoid being stigmatized as "old". Recently, however, some have chosen naturally gray hair. Informed by Goffman's theory of stigma, we investigated why they would do so in the face of age-discrimination, and their experiences of the process. We identified two major, oppositional themes, competence and authenticity. Despite wanting to avoid perceptions of old-thus-incompetent, women risked gray hair in order to feel authentic. However, they employed other beauty practices to mitigate the effects of gray hair, indicating conflict between a (subjectively) authentic appearance and societal perceptions of competence.

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Section: Analytic Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%