Age matters : realigning feminist thinking

366 Pages·2006·4.432 MB·English

by  Slevin, Kathleen F., Calasanti, Toni M

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Age Matters
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Age Matters
Realigning Feminist Thinking
Edited by
Toni M. Calasanti and Kathleen F. Slevin
New York London
Routledge is an imprint of the
Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Routledge Routledge
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© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
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International Standard Book Number-10: 0-415-95224-7 (Softcover) 0-415-95223-9 (Hardcover)
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-415-95224-8 (Softcover) 978-0-415-95223-1 (Hardcover)
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Age matters : realigning feminist thinking / edited by Toni M. Calasanti and Kathleen
F. Slevin.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-415-95223-9 (hardback : alk. paper) -- ISBN 0-415-95224-7 (pbk. : alk.
paper)
1. Aging--Social aspects. 2. Ageism. 3. Old age. 4. Older women. 5. Feminism. I.
Calasanti, Toni M. II. Slevin, Kathleen F., 1947-
HQ1061.A423 2006
305.26--dc22 2006010484
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at
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and the Routledge Web site at
http://www.routledge-ny.com
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To Ann and Anthony Calasanti
With love and thanks
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Chapter 1 Introduction: Age Matters 1
TonI M. CAlAsAnTI And KAThleen F. slevIn
Part 1 Challenges to Feminisms 19
Chapter 2 The Personal as Political: The legacy of Betty Friedan 21
RuTh e. RAy
Chapter 3 The lengthening list of oppressions: Age Relations
and the Feminist study of Inequality 47
neAl KIng
Chapter 4 From Androgyny to Androgens: Resexing the Aging
Body 75
BARBARA l. MARshAll And sTePhen KATz
Chapter 5 graying the Cyborg: new directions in Feminist
Analyses of Aging, science, and Technology 99
Kelly JoyCe And lAuRA MAMo
vii
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viii • Age Matters: Realigning Feminist Thinking
Chapter 6 Intimate Relationships: learning from later life
experience 123
IngRId ARneT ConnIdIs
Chapter 7 Aging and gender in Families: A very grand opening 155
KATheRIne R. Allen And AlexIs J. WAlKeR
Chapter 8 Intersectionality and Age Relations: unpaid Care Work
and Chicanas 175
AnnA zAJICeK, TonI CAlAsAnTI, CRIsTIe gInTheR,
And JulIe suMMeRs
Part 2 Listening to Aging Voices 199
Chapter 9 gendered Ageism/Age(ed) sexism: The Case of
unemployed older Workers 201
JulIe Ann MCMullIn And ellIe d. BeRgeR
Chapter 10 sleep, gender, and Aging: Temporal Perspectives
in the Mid‑to‑later life Transition 225
Jenny hIsloP And sARA ARBeR
Chapter 11 The embodied experiences of old lesbians 247
KAThleen F. slevIn
Chapter 12 gender and old Age: lessons from spousal Care Work 269
TonI M. CAlAsAnTI
Chapter 13 Maintaining Manliness in later life: hegemonic
Masculinities and emphasized Femininities 295
RoBeRT MeAdoWs And KATe dAvIdson
Chapter 14 on Being an Aging Woman 313
MARThA B. holsTeIn
Contributors 335
Index 343
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Acknowledgments
This edited volume represents a labor of love for most of the contributors
who have been at the forefront of critical thinking in aging studies and
gerontology, in the united states and in Britain and Canada. We are all
committed feminists, and we share a frustration that feminist scholarship
has paid scant attention to ageism, age relations, and old age. As editors,
we are very grateful to each contributor who joined us in this challeng‑
ing but rewarding exercise. having few intellectual signposts to guide
one’s work is both liberating and daunting, and the authors in this vol‑
ume embraced both aspects. Their willingness to think, rethink, and hone
their ideas demonstrates their commitment to moving feminist thought
forward. We give special thanks to neal King, who gave generously of his
time throughout the project. We also thank the Indiana university Press
for giving us permission to reprint parts of the article “Ageism and Femi‑
nism: From ‘et Cetera’ to Center,” by Toni Calasanti, Kathleen slevin, and
neal King, NWSA Journal 18(1): 13–30, in the introduction to this vol‑
ume. The research reported in chapter 12 was supported in part by Award
no. 04‑2 from the Commonwealth of virginia’s Alzheimer’s and Related
diseases Research Award Fund, administered by the virginia Center on
Aging, virginia Commonwealth university. Finally, we are grateful to
Michael Bickerstaff for his support in bringing this volume to fruition.
ix
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