ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the politics of oldness in Western culture where aging and later life are socially devalued and reviled. The author considers the complexities and ambiguities surrounding the delineation of who is considered old as well as the ways that gendered body ideals influence older men and women’s perceptions and experiences of aging and oldness. Highlighting the social, economic, and interpersonal consequences of being relegated to the chronological and social categories of oldness, the author outlines the ways that age-based discrimination and exclusion permeate the workplace, the health care system, and everyday relationships. The author further illuminates how looking old is particularly injurious to older women who are perceived to progressively lose their social currency and visibility with the passage of time. Finally, the author examines older adults’ responses to age-based discrimination, paying particular attention to body image and body management practices.
