ABSTRACT

Feminist women bequeath to us a powerful critique of our society's obsession with beauty and impossible body ideals. Having refused makeup, high heels, and short skirts in their youth, these women are now entering the most stigmatized stage in a woman's life?old age. As she becomes the ?older woman,? the feminist's rejection of beauty standards and her ability to locate self-worth is being challenged.How will feminists respond to the issues raised in this phase of their lives? By confronting the issues unique to older women in our culture and society, these authors redress the neglect and isolation experienced within contemporary feminism and gerontology.Ultimately, the goal of the book is to inspire the aging woman to more easily embrace the ?older other? within her.

chapter |16 pages

Introduction

part One|54 pages

Situating

part Two|89 pages

Problematizing

chapter 6|22 pages

Friends or Foes

Gerontological and Feminist Theory

chapter 7|18 pages

Heresy in the Female Body

The Rhetorics of Menopause

chapter 8|8 pages

Gender, Race, and Class

Beyond the Feminization of Poverty in Later Life

chapter 9|14 pages

The View from Over the Hill

chapter 11|9 pages

What Setting Limits May Mean

A Feminist Critique ofDaniel Callahan’s Setting Limits

part Three|65 pages

Representing

chapter 12|14 pages

Sunset Boulevard

Fading Stars

chapter 13|19 pages

Remembering Our Foremothers

Older Black Women, Politics of Age, Politics of Survival as Embodied in the Novels of Toni Morrison

chapter 14|23 pages

Visible Difference

Women Artists and Aging

chapter 15|5 pages

Time Will Tell

part Four|48 pages

Privileging

chapter 16|3 pages

Toward Another Dimension …

chapter 17|6 pages

Indian Summer

chapter 18|4 pages

In the Heat of Shadow

chapter 19|5 pages

Mirror of Strength

Portrait of Two Chilean Arpilleristas

chapter 20|4 pages

The Space Crone

chapter 21|22 pages

Serenity and Power