Publication date:
19 March 2015Length of book:
316 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781442222878
Contemporary old age is fraught with contradiction and complexity—women portrayed either as incompetent and cuddly grandmothers or as young women trapped in old bodies, images that rarely reflect how women actually see themselves. Women in Late Life explores the thorny issues related to gender and aging, including prevailing but problematic cultural expectations, body image, ageism, the experience of chronic illness, threats to Social Security and the very possibility of a secure retirement while challenging a long-term care system that disadvantages women.
Author Martha Holstein writes from a critical feminist perspective, drawing on her many years of experience in gerontology, as well as interviews and personal experience as a woman now in her seventies. The book highlights how women’s experience of late life is shaped by the effects of lifelong gender norms, by contemporary culture—from gender stereotypes to ageism—and by the political context. The book blends critique with proposals aimed at resisting damaging inequities resulting from being simultaneously old and a woman. She focuses on changes needed on multiple levels—societal, cultural, political, and individual. This interdisciplinary look at key questions around gender and aging is nuanced and beautifully written.
Author Martha Holstein writes from a critical feminist perspective, drawing on her many years of experience in gerontology, as well as interviews and personal experience as a woman now in her seventies. The book highlights how women’s experience of late life is shaped by the effects of lifelong gender norms, by contemporary culture—from gender stereotypes to ageism—and by the political context. The book blends critique with proposals aimed at resisting damaging inequities resulting from being simultaneously old and a woman. She focuses on changes needed on multiple levels—societal, cultural, political, and individual. This interdisciplinary look at key questions around gender and aging is nuanced and beautifully written.
Holstein, a feminist scholar of aging, has written a compelling book about the distinctive challenges facing older women in the contemporary US. Older women share universal challenges ranging from biological aging to both subtle and overt ageism, yet their lived experiences vary widely based on their social locations—including race, social class, sexual orientation, (dis)ability status, and even physical appearance. The author integrates personal insights drawn from her experiences as a septuagenarian woman scholar with empirical social science research, critical gerontology theory, descriptions of cultural forces that (dis)empower older women, and informal interviews with the women of Mayslake, an independent living facility outside Chicago. The book builds on two additional themes. First, power informs both how one ages and the organization of resources, opportunities, and benefits afforded to older women. Second, ‘old’ should not be a devalued and stigmatized status, but one that is celebrated and respected. These themes set the foundation for substantive chapters on ageism, chronic illness, long-term care, retirement, end-of-life care, and activism. Holstein provides a thought-provoking and intimate tutorial into the lives and challenges of contemporary older women. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.