Laura Hurd Clarke

Visible and invisible ageing: beauty work as a response to ageism

ABSTRACT This paper examines how older women experience and respond to ageism in relation to their changing physical appearances and within the context of their personal relationships and places of employment. We elucidate the two definitions of ageism that emerged in in-depth interviews with 44 women aged 50 to 70 years: the social obsession with youthfulness and discrimination against older adults. We examine the womens arguments that their ageing appearances were pivotal to their experience of ageism and underscored their engagement in beauty work such as hair dye, make-up, cosmetic surgery, and non-surgical cosmetic procedures. The women suggested that they engaged in beauty work for the following underlying motivations: the fight against invisibility, a life-long investment in appearance, the desire to attract or retain a romantic partner, and employment related-ageism. We contend that the womens experiences highlight a tension between being physically and socially visible by virtue of looking youthful, and the realities of growing older. In other words, social invisibility arises from the acquisition of visible signs of ageing and compels women to make their chronological ages imperceptible through the use of beauty work. The study extends the research and theorising on gendered ageism and provides an example of how womens experiences of ageing and ageism are deeply rooted in their appearances and in the ageist, sexist perceptions of older womens bodies.

Older women's perceptions of ideal body weights: the tensions between health and appearance motivations for weight loss

This paper explores older womens evaluations of their weight as well as the perceived merits and detriments of weight gain and weight loss in later life. Using data from semi-structured interviews with 22 community-dwelling women aged 61 to 92 years, I examine the meanings that the women attribute to dieting, desired body weights and obesity. The women frequently offer unsolicited accounts for why they have gained or lost weight over time, and disclose their perceptions of and reasons for needing to alter their current body weights. I probe the tensions between weight loss for health concerns versus appearance goals. The women express dissatisfaction with their weight gain in terms of their physical appearance. However, they also tend to describe the need to lose weight in terms of health risks and benefits rather than in terms of approximating the beauty ideal or achieving a desired body size and shape. Health tends to be described as a valid justification for being concerned with ones weight, while an appearance orientation is deemed to be indicative of vanity. Many of the women suggest that while the health benefits of weight loss are often the stated reason for losing weight, the perceived appearance dividends are the key motivation behind altering ones body weight in later life.

Aging and the Body: A Review.

Dans cet article, nous examinons les recherches socioculturelles existantes et la théorie concernant le corps vieillissant. En particulier, nous examinons l’image du corps et la littérature de l’incarnation et discutons de ce qui est connu de la façon dont les aînés perçoivent et sentent l’expérience de leur corps vieillissants. Nous analysons comment l’image du corps est influencée par l’âge, la culture, l’origine ethnique, le sexe, l’état de santé, les préferences sexuelles, et la classe sociale. En outre, nous avons élaboré de façon critique la littérature comme mode de réalisation qui a trait aux expériences de la maladie, la sexualité, la gestion quotidienne du corps vieillissante, le travail avec l’apparence et l’identité incarnée. En présentant les principales conclusions, les débats théoriques, et les divergences de fond qui sont présentes dans la recherche et dans la théorie de l’image corporelle et l’incarnation, nous avons identifié les lacunes dans la littérature et avons prévu des axes d’enquête requises à l’avenir. In this article, we examine the existing sociocultural research and theory concerned with the aging body. In particular, we review the body image and embodiment literatures and discuss what is known about how older adults perceive and experience their aging bodies. We analyse how body image is shaped by age, culture, ethnicity, gender, health status, sexual preference, and social class. Additionally, we critically elucidate the embodiment literature as it pertains to illness experiences, sexuality, the everyday management of the aging body, appearance work, and embodied identity. By outlining the key findings, theoretical debates, and substantive discrepancies within the body image and embodiment research and theory, we identify gaps in the literature and forecast future, much-needed avenues of investigation.

Failing Bodies: Body Image and Multiple Chronic Conditions in Later Life

There is a rich qualitative tradition of examining the lived experience of singular chronic conditions as well as the relationship between illness and identity in chronic disease. There has been little exploration of the experience of multiple chronic conditions or how these health issues may influence body image in later life. Building on the extant research and providing an alternative lens for understanding the experience of health issues, this article examines the body images of older adults with five or more chronic conditions. We use data from in-depth interviews with 10 men and 10 women aged 68 to 88 to analyze how older adults perceive their bodies to be failing in terms of their appearances, functional abilities, and impending mortality. We discuss how the participants view their bodies as both aesthetic and instrumental entities and how gender norms and discourses of successful aging and healthism shape their body evaluations.

'You learn to live with all the things that are wrong with you': gender and the experience of multiple chronic conditions in later life

ABSTRACT This article examines how older adults experience the physical and social realities of having multiple chronic conditions in later life. Drawing on data from in-depth interviews with 16 men and 19 women aged 73+ who had between three and 14 chronic conditions, we address the following research questions: (a) What is it like to have multiple chronic conditions in later life? (b) How do older men and women ‘learn to live’ with the physical and social realities of multiple morbidities? (c) How are older adults’ experiences of illness influenced by age and gender norms? Our participants experienced their physical symptoms and the concomitant limitations to their activities to be a source of personal disruption. However, they normalised their illnesses and made social comparisons in order to achieve a sense of biographical flow in distinctly gendered ways. Forthright in their frustration over their loss of autonomy and physicality but resigned and stoic, the mens stories reflected masculine norms of control, invulnerability, physical prowess, self-reliance and toughness. The women were dismayed by their bodies’ altered appearances and concerned about how their illnesses might affect their significant others, thereby responding to feminine norms of selflessness, sensitivity to others and nurturance. We discuss the findings in relation to the competing concepts of biographical disruption and biographical flow, as well as successful ageing discourses.

Bat wings, bunions, and turkey wattles: body transgressions and older women's strategic clothing choices.

ABSTRACT This paper examines older womens experiences and perceptions of clothing prescriptions for adults in later life. Using data from in-depth interviews with 36 women aged 71 to 93 years, we investigate the stringent, taken-for-granted social norms that older women identified with respect to appropriate fashion for the ageing female body. Specifically, the participants argued that older women should refrain from wearing bright colours and revealing or overly suggestive styles. Expressing a preference for classic or traditional styles, the women also reported that they used clothing strategically to mask or compensate for bodily transgressions that had occurred over time as a result of the physical realities of ageing, including weight gain, altered body shapes, wrinkles and sagging or ‘flabby’ arms and necks, referred to respectively as ‘bat wings’ and ‘turkey wattles’. In addition, the women contended that they consciously chose their clothing styles to compensate for age-related health issues and/or to present a competent, healthy self to others. Finally, the women talked about the ways in which their clothing choices were influenced by their changing lifestyles and constrained by a lack of desirable and affordable clothing options for the older female body. The findings are discussed in the light of Erving Goffmans concept of stigma and contemporary theorising about ageing, ageism, beauty work and the body.

Constructing the moral body: Self-care among older adults with multiple chronic conditions

Older adults are increasingly living with and managing multiple chronic conditions. The self-management of illness occurs in a social and political context in which the responsibility for health has shifted from the State to the individual, who is expected to be an active consumer of health care. Although there has been extensive investigation of the management of single chronic conditions, the realities of living with multiple morbidities have largely been ignored, particularly among older adults. Addressing this gap, our study entailed in-depth interviews with 35 older Canadian adults, aged 73 to 91, who had between three and 14 chronic conditions. Self-care emerged as a primary means by which our participants managed their illnesses. Specifically, all of our participants were engaged in some form of self-care in order to cope with often debilitating physical symptoms and functional losses. They also utilized self-care because they had reached the limits of available medical treatment options. Finally, our participants argued that self-care was a moral responsibility that was underscored by gendered motivations. Whereas the men tended to emphasize the importance of self-care for the achievement of masculine ideals of control and invulnerability, the women suggested that self-care allowed them to maintain feminine norms of selflessness and sensitivity to the needs of others. In this way, self-care enabled the men and women to reframe their aging, chronically ill bodies as moral, socially valued bodies. We discuss our findings in relation to the extant research and theorizing pertaining to self-care, gender, and healthism.

Non-surgical cosmetic procedures: older women's perceptions and experiences.

ABSTRACT This paper analyzes findings from in-depth interviews with 44 women aged 50–70 regarding their perceptions of and experiences with non-surgical cosmetic procedures such as Botox injections, laser hair removal, chemical peels, microdermabrasion, and injectable fillers. While 21 of the women had used a range of non-surgical cosmetic procedures, 23 women had not. The data are discussed in light of feminist theorizing on cosmetic surgery which has tended to ignore the experiences of older women and has been divided in terms of the portrayal of cosmetic surgery as either oppressive or liberating. We found that some of the women used the procedures to increase their physical attractiveness and self-esteem, others viewed the procedures as excessively risky, and still others argued that the procedures stemmed from the social devaluation of later life. Treatments that involved the alteration of the surface of the body tended to be viewed as less risky than the injection of foreign substances into the body.

Beauty in Later Life: Older Women's Perceptions of Physical Attractiveness

Using data from 96 hours of semi-structured interviews with women aged 61 to 92, this paper explores the meanings that older women attribute to beauty and aging. The women in my study tend to equate physical attractiveness with youthfulness and slimness. However, they reject the extremes of thinness embodied in todays fashion models and actresses. Even as they disparage obese individuals, the women argue that thin older women appear scrawny. The women express a preference for more rounded female bodies than current beauty standards allow and emphasize the importance of inner beauty. While some women view their wrinkles negatively, others suggest that their facial creases are badges of honour. I argue that older women do not simply internalize beauty ideals to the detriment of their sense of self. Rather, older women resist and challenge current ideals of feminine attractiveness and suggest alternative beauty ideals and definitions of personal desirability.

Shades of grey: to dye or not to dye one's hair in later life

ABSTRACT This article examines older womens perceptions of grey, white and coloured hair. Using data from in-depth interviews with 36 women aged 71–94 years (mean 79), we elucidate the womens attitudes towards and reasons for dyeing or not dyeing their hair. The majority of our participants disparaged the appearance of grey hair, which they equated with ugliness, dependence, poor health, social disengagement and cultural invisibility. The women were particularly averse to their own grey hair, and many suggested that other womens grey hair was acceptable, if not attractive. At the same time, half of the women liked the look of snowy white hair, which they associated with attractiveness in later life as well as with goodness and purity. While one-third of the women had begun to dye their hair in their youth so as to appear more fashionable, two-thirds continued to dye their hair in later life so as to mask their grey hair and their chronological age. The women suggested that they used hair dye to appear more youthful and to resist ageist stereotypes associated with older women. We discuss the findings in relation to previous research concerning older womens hair, the concept of doing gender, and theories pertaining to ageism.