Abstract
This chapter, divided into two parts, discusses the problem of the ageing body in an increasingly age-conscious society. The first part introduces the constructionist critique of the biomedical model of human ageing and the second part is an examination of Margaret Morganroth Gullette’s radical critique of the ‘decline narrative’ in Western culture. For Gullette, the fact that the body changes biologically over time does not explain why ageing into old age should be widely perceived as a condition of psychological and social decline. In her view, biological change and decline are not synonymous: decline is a cultural construct epitomising the prevailing ageism of contemporary Western culture where the discursive consequences include the social marginalisation of older people and subjective experiences of insecurity and self-doubt in later life.
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© 2003 Mike Hepworth
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Hepworth, M. (2003). Ageing Bodies: Aged by Culture. In: Coupland, J., Gwyn, R. (eds) Discourse, the Body, and Identity. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403918543_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403918543_5
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