Sexing Up the Midlife Woman: Cultural Representations of Ageing, Femininity and the Sexy Body

Abstract

8 March 2013 saw the launch of a compendium of essays which highlighted the challenges and opportunities of ageing for women in the UK and across the globe.¹ The 38 essays, written by a range of authors (including politicians, policy-makers, academics and campaigners) discussed topics around health and wellbeing, finances and work, care and caring, social isolation, and intimacy and relationships; many acknowledged the significant, yet often overlooked, contributions that older women make to their families and wider society. It was released to mark International Women’s Day, and the title Has the Sisterhood Forgotten Older Women? reflected recently raised concerns that feminism has neglected older women because of a focus on advancing the rights of younger women. While the consensus of the compendium was that the ‘sisterhood’ had certainly not forgotten older women, the recognition that it needed to catch up with the issues that are pertinent to this older generation of women today was clear.