Women and Ageing: New Cultural and Critical Perspectives
University of Limerick, Ireland
20th-22nd May 2015
Conveners: Dr Cathy McGlynn, Dr Maggie O'Neill, Dr Michaela Schrage-Früh (University of Limerick)
In a time when even Bridget Jones finds herself in her early fifties, it may at first glance seem unwarranted to speak of the
invisibility of ageing women in literary and cultural contexts. In fact, as a review of Mad about the Boy (2013) puts it, "Bridget's
amorous adventures … make the prospect of middle age not so bad at all". Constructions like this open up questions about
representations of women and ageing. What types of images of the "ageing woman" are created in cultural texts? Do women in
later life, in order to become visible, need to find ways to "pass" as younger so that "age shall not wither them" as Kira
Cochraine puts it in an article in the Guardian (2009)? Are these legitimate strategies or should women embrace the menopause
as a new phase of life and liberation as advised by Germaine Greer? What impact do dominant representations of ageing
women have on the sociocultural realities of women in their later years? And in what ways do they compare to earlier
representations?
The rise of the new interdisciplinary field of ageing studies / cultural gerontology testifies to the need to reassess cultural
representations of ageing and to view ageing not only as part of the life course but as a social and cultural construct. It is all the
more surprising that ageing is a topic still marginalised in feminist theory, despite Simone de Beauvoir’s testimony to her dismay
at ‘Society’s secret shame’ in The Coming of Age in 1970. There are some notable exceptions, such as Germaine Greer's work on
the postmenopausal woman, Susan Bordo's work on the body, or Lynn Segal’s recent reflection and analysis of the process of
growing older. This conference will engage with the symbolic aspects of women and aging in culture and society, and the power
these constructions exert over public and private conceptions of old age.
The aim of this conference is to provide an opportunity to discuss intersections of the cultural, social and medical dimensions of
women and ageing. It will engage with discourses on ageing in their various cultural manifestations through the ages but also
across different cultures, genres and media. We invite papers from diverse disciplines such as literary and cultural studies, film
and media studies, philosophy, anthropology, linguistics and the medical humanities.
Plenary Speakers: Prof Germaine Greer; Prof Margaret Harper; TBC
Events: Poetry reading by Meadbh McGuckian; Roundtable on Ageing in Ireland
Possible topics can include but are not limited to:
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Ageing, autobiography and lived experience
Technologies, medicine and ageing
Ageing and popular culture
Ageing and neoliberalism
Visual images of ageing
Age and performance
The ageing body as text
Ageing and memory
Stigma
Myths about ageing, women in myth
Age and creativity
Queer Ageing
Love, loss and mourning
Lived experience
Health, menopause, the post-maternal body
Male representations of women and ageing
Older and younger mothers
The ageing spinster
The cult of youth and perceptions of beauty
Ageing, recession and dependency
Ageing and women minorities
Age, race, and colour
Ageing and dress
Please submit proposals for papers or panels by 28th February 2015. Proposals should be 250 words and should include a 50
word biography. Queries may be directed to the conference organisers at ageing.women@gmail.com. Conference fee TBC.