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Aging, Femininity, and the Body: What Appearance Changes Mean to Women with Age

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Abstract

In this article, I analyze interviews with a diverse group of 30 women aged 46–71 to understand how they experience signs of aging, such as weight gain, gray hair, and facial hair, in everyday life. I find that some women’s responses are in line with normative femininity and appearance norms. Others, however, focus on different gendered meanings of the body that are connected to care-taking, work, ageist treatment, and past abuse. I argue that feminists should apply the theoretical concept of femininity more broadly than appearance and attraction issues to gain a deeper understanding of the multiple meanings of living in an aging female body in a gendered society. In the conclusion, I discuss the implications of this study for public health policies as well as future research on gender and the body.

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Acknowledgements

I want to thank the 30 women who participated in this study and openly shared their experiences with me. I am grateful to Patti Giuffre, Amy Farrell, Pauline Cullen, Ashley Finley, Patricia Richards, and John Knox, for reading and providing valuable comments on drafts of this paper.

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  1. Department of Family and Community Medicine, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC, 27157, USA

    Julie A. Winterich

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  1. Julie A. Winterich
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Correspondence to Julie A. Winterich.

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Winterich, J.A. Aging, Femininity, and the Body: What Appearance Changes Mean to Women with Age. Gend. Issues 24, 51–69 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-007-9045-1

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