ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book draws on audio-recordings of their and seven other women’s conversations with Joellen and her staff as their hair was shampooed, cut, styled and dried. It examines how these women negotiate their way through their own and others’ expectations of ageing as they construct different kinds of older – and other – identities for themselves. The book outlines in broad-brush terms the way ageing is portrayed in many Western societies. It offers an overview of studies examining older people’s identities in interaction in different settings. The book shows that even in instances where age is explicitly named, other identities may be more salient, and that the use of ageing-relevant terms and expressions is in the service of wider interactional projects than claiming or attributing older age.
