ABSTRACT
The question of age and bodily ability became a focus in the previous chapter, which revealed how media representations afford primacy to attractive and young bodies, minimalizing Gayle Shan’s disability. This chapter brings attention to aging bodies, as the demographic profi le of rural communities in advanced economies is shaped by an aging population. Moreover, rural scholarship concerned with aging has shown less interest in the aged than youth (e.g. Jentsch and Shucksmith 2004; Jones 2000; Kraak and Kenway 2002; Matthews et al. 1999; Rye 2006). Thus, we wish to explore narratives of aging and its interstices with gender and rurality, given the profoundly gendered nature of aging.
