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The Embodied Life Course: Post-ageism or the Renaturalization of Gender?

Author

Listed:
  • Barbara L. Marshall

    (Department of Sociology, Trent University, Peterborough, ON K9J 7B8, Canada)

  • Stephen Katz

    (Department of Sociology, Trent University, Peterborough, ON K9J 7B8, Canada)

Abstract

This paper argues that the sociology of the body must take more account of embodiment as an ongoing process that occurs over the life course, and it suggests that a critical perspective is required that emphasizes the material processes of embodiment by which physical changes in age and time are culturally mediated. We take the concept of the embodied life course as a starting point for probing the temporal aspects of bodily life, for exploring the ways in which biological, biographical and socio-historical time intersect, and for grasping the ways that temporality is materialized and mobilized through bodies. Taking the example of the biomedical reconfiguration of sexual function across the life course, we demonstrate how aging bodies have been opened to new forms of intervention that situate them within new understandings of nature and culture. Conclusions reflect on the contradictions of ‘post-ageist’ discourses and practices that promise to liberate bodies from chronological age, while simultaneously re-naturalizing gender in sexed bodies.

Suggested Citation

  • Barbara L. Marshall & Stephen Katz, 2012. "The Embodied Life Course: Post-ageism or the Renaturalization of Gender?," Societies, MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-13, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:2:y:2012:i:4:p:222-234:d:20989
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. John B. Shoven, 2007. "New Age Thinking: Alternative Ways of Measuring Age, Their Relationship to Labor Force Participation, Goverment Policies and GDP," NBER Working Papers 13476, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ieva Stončikaitė, 2017. "‘No, My Husband Isn’t Dead, [But] One Has to Re-Invent Sexuality’: Reading Erica Jong for the Future of Aging," Societies, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-11, May.
    2. Ieva Stončikaitė, 2019. "Critical Approaches to Ageing Body Politics in the Works of Erica Jong," Societies, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-10, June.
    3. Jacqueline Low & Claudia Malacrida, 2013. "Embodied Action, Embodied Theory: Understanding the Body in Society," Societies, MDPI, vol. 3(3), pages 1-5, July.
    4. Ieva Stončikaitė, 2020. "On the Hunt for Noble Savages: Romance Tourism and Ageing Femininities," Societies, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-10, June.

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