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Forever ‘Becoming’? Negotiating Gendered and Ageing Embodiment in Everyday Life

Author

Listed:
  • Katy Pilcher

    (Aston University, UK)

  • Wendy Martin

    (Brunel University London, UK)

Abstract

Drawing upon 62 participant-produced visual diaries and accompanying interview narratives, this article explores the significance of everyday body work for people in mid- to later life. Departing from previous work that has explored the intersections of gender and age in relation to a single embodied practice, this article highlights the salience of a myriad of bodily practices for the everyday ways that gender and ageing identities are constituted, specifically hair styling, beauty work, clothing, and dieting. We argue that women negotiate a gendered pressure to age well , which results in an in/visibility paradox, in which they are at one and the same time seen, but not seen. Consequently, we question whether women are thus forever ‘becoming’ – attempting to become embodied subjects, alongside subjecting to ‘becoming’ – aligning with normative discourses. The article examines the competing ways that ageing and gendered bodies are constructed, together with participants’ embodied resistance to negative normalising discourses.

Suggested Citation

  • Katy Pilcher & Wendy Martin, 2020. "Forever ‘Becoming’? Negotiating Gendered and Ageing Embodiment in Everyday Life," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 25(4), pages 698-717, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socres:v:25:y:2020:i:4:p:698-717
    DOI: 10.1177/1360780420928380
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jenny Hockey & Rachel Dilley & Victoria Robinson & Alexandra Sherlock, 2013. "Worn Shoes: Identity, Memory and Footwear," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 18(1), pages 128-142, February.
    2. Carol Wolkowitz, 2012. "Flesh and Stone Revisited: The Body Work Landscape of South Florida," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 17(2), pages 1-7, May.
    3. Dawn Lyon, 2016. "Doing Audio-Visual Montage to Explore Time and Space: The Everyday Rhythms of Billingsgate Fish Market," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 21(3), pages 57-68, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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