Images of aging1995
cultural representations of later life
by Mike Featherstone
It is true to say that aging is about the body, yet in the study of aging we often lose sight of the lived body. Previous works have tended to concentrate on a gruesome cartography of aging infirmities, or on policy developments. The result of this has been to make gerontology and the study of aging data rich and theory poor. It is remarkable that there is almost a complete absence of study of culture and self-image of the middle aged and old. Images of Aging changes this.
The editors have drawn together a team of international contributors who discuss the images of aging which have come to circulate in the advanced industrial societies of today.
They address themes such as: body and self-image in everyday interaction; experience and identity in old age; advertising and consumer culture...