ABSTRACT
Sociologist Arthur Frank suggests that plots fall into three main types namely chaos, restitution and quest. While 'chaos' is a sense of broken order than cannot be mended, 'restitution' is a mode of weathering change and crisis in a way that leads to restoration of the status quo. Although the range of possible selves available to individuals reflects cultural capital, as well as societal and generational mores, ageing diminishes the number and range of possible selves, in a way that overrides comparative degree of privilege and this is particularly true for women. Key transition points in a woman's life are mediated and regulated via the mirror of the social gaze and indeed very often literally in the mirror. Having-it-all first emerges as a problematic aspiration for young women in their late teens or when they go away to college, and often finds its focus on management of the body, especially on diet.
