The Literal Enactments of the Dual Concepts of ‘Creating an Area of Visibility’ and ‘Providing a Platform’ for the De-marginalization of Age Studies
Kathleen Woodward’s “Introduction” in the book Figuring Age: Women, Bodies, Generations, is riveting text that deals with the subject of age studies (AS) in association with older women and their representation as well as self-representation of discourses on aging and their experiences with aging. Stephen Katz’s (2014) text “What Is Age Studies”, discusses the critical contributions being made to AS as “scattered and splintered distributions of academics, advocates, public intellectuals, and political leaders working across various organizations with different resources and mandates” (para. 3). …show more content…
x). She argues that when one is repressing aging/ denying old age, this is an act of ageism. Woodward states that ageism - in similarity to sexism and racism – represents the collective discrimination of the elderly based solely on the fact that they are older. It is a manifestation of one’s personal fear of aging. Ageism is deeply embedded within feminism and women often at times internalize their culture’s biases against old age and aging (Woodward, 1999 p. xi). In order to support her ideas on AS and the needed inclusion of women in the subject of older age, Woodward draws from a repertoire of critical sources – some from within the book as well as other external texts. By doing this, Woodward (1999) is presenting an example of a way in which an arena of visibility can shed light on AS, more specifically, on the “virtually invisible subject of older women” (p. …show more content…
8). Another significance of critical perspectives is that it offers methods on the deconstruction of dominant cultural narratives, as well as, gives a voice to the suppressed narratives of many individuals – some of which are often marginalized/ forgotten in society (Katz, 2014 para. 8). This concept is also emphasized in Woodward’s “Introduction”, which focuses on providing narratives of representation and self-representation of older women (an often marginalized group of people within society) in AS. The humanities allow for the critical exploration of person-centred experiences of different aspects and issues regarding aging through multiple forms of expressions. Therefore, incorporating the humanities into AS leads to a subjective dimension that allows for individuals to include themselves in what is written about AS. By integrating the humanities into their respective works, Katz and Woodward are validating the significance of linking multiple frameworks and interdisciplinary ideologies to create critical perspectives of
Kathleen Woodward’s “Introduction” in the book Figuring Age: Women, Bodies, Generations, is riveting text that deals with the subject of age studies (AS) in association with older women and their representation as well as self-representation of discourses on aging and their experiences with aging. Stephen Katz’s (2014) text “What Is Age Studies”, discusses the critical contributions being made to AS as “scattered and splintered distributions of academics, advocates, public intellectuals, and political leaders working across various organizations with different resources and mandates” (para. 3). …show more content…
x). She argues that when one is repressing aging/ denying old age, this is an act of ageism. Woodward states that ageism - in similarity to sexism and racism – represents the collective discrimination of the elderly based solely on the fact that they are older. It is a manifestation of one’s personal fear of aging. Ageism is deeply embedded within feminism and women often at times internalize their culture’s biases against old age and aging (Woodward, 1999 p. xi). In order to support her ideas on AS and the needed inclusion of women in the subject of older age, Woodward draws from a repertoire of critical sources – some from within the book as well as other external texts. By doing this, Woodward (1999) is presenting an example of a way in which an arena of visibility can shed light on AS, more specifically, on the “virtually invisible subject of older women” (p. …show more content…
8). Another significance of critical perspectives is that it offers methods on the deconstruction of dominant cultural narratives, as well as, gives a voice to the suppressed narratives of many individuals – some of which are often marginalized/ forgotten in society (Katz, 2014 para. 8). This concept is also emphasized in Woodward’s “Introduction”, which focuses on providing narratives of representation and self-representation of older women (an often marginalized group of people within society) in AS. The humanities allow for the critical exploration of person-centred experiences of different aspects and issues regarding aging through multiple forms of expressions. Therefore, incorporating the humanities into AS leads to a subjective dimension that allows for individuals to include themselves in what is written about AS. By integrating the humanities into their respective works, Katz and Woodward are validating the significance of linking multiple frameworks and interdisciplinary ideologies to create critical perspectives of