Unit II

The readings this week opened me up to a side of feminism I have never fully considered. The content of the first article, “Age Matters”, held true to what I have read and seen in so many of my classes. While speaking generally about women, my mind never goes to the older generation of women – my mind always considers “women” to be a female of middle age. And while I have taken many women studies classes, I haven’t been taught enough to change this particular way of thinking. The article explains that most feminist consider age but rarely old people. It says that most feminists exclude old people in both their choice of research questions and in their theoretical approaches. Often we will see the word “older” rather than “old” to avoid the negativity that the word “old” brings about. In doing so, we fuel the stigma in American culture that being old is a negative thing. It’s even considered an insult to call someone old. This same article discusses successful aging. Someone who ages successfully in our society is one that remains fit, young looking, healthy, and mobile. When you put all of these aspects together, aren’t you just saying that this person is seemingly remaining young?  “Successful aging assumes a “feminine” aspect in the ideal that the good elderly woman be healthy, slim, discreetly sexy, and independent. (Ruddick 1999). Our society just holds fear in ageing. We associate it with failure. The more that I write on this, the more ridiculous it sounds. Why do we resist, push off and devalue something that is so naturally beautiful and human? Per usual, I will put some of the blame on the media popular culture. Celebrities are constantly striving to age successfully - though they are   pushed by public criticism and judgment to uphold that image.

In comparing women and men and ageing, I have found there to be certain differences between the two. The media tends to portray the aging man as a suave character, who seems to only get better with time. This particular archetype is well dressed, and usually has a young and attractive girlfriend. There are so many instances of older men dating much younger, attractive girls. The roles are rarely reversed. Because women already struggle to be seen as powerful, an older woman in our society is viewed as a particularly helpless, weak being. In Margaret Cruickshank’s “Learning to be Old”, she talks about women in particular giving up the ability to drive. The older generation clings to the ability to drive, because if they gave up that ability they would be giving up the ability to serve themselves. I was interested to read that only 54% of our communities have no publicly funded senior transportation, and the rest have limited systems. It just seems to be a vicious cycle – those who give up the ability to drive are stuck in the home, sitting around all day, probably coming to terms that they are “just getting old” and should stop doing anything active.

I am interested to learn when being old in America got its negative connotation. Feminists must begin considering all ages when it comes to general conversations, theories and studies. The neglect adds to the stigma that getting old is a shameful process, and that we should avoid it as long as possible. I think that it is time to change the stereotype.