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OLDER WOMEN'S SEXUALITY AND BODY IMAGE

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The theme of this column is an extension of the ideas explored in two earlier columns—Women's Body Image (44, 3, 2004) and Making Women's Lives Visible (45, 4, 2005). In the former column reviews of three videos, Gracious Curves, Making the Crystal Quilt, and Inside/Out, addressed women's negative self-perceptions of their aging bodies and ageism and gender stereotyping. In the latter column, two videos, Maggie Growls and Her Name is Zelda, explored the ways in which two radically different women passionately embraced their aging process. The reviewer of Maggie Growls considered Maggie Kuhn's contributions to the history of gerontology as well as her iconic status to generations of women who were inspired by her passionate embrace of the aging process. Her Name is Zelda, the second review in that column, introduced readers to another older woman who, like Maggie, is fierce with reality in her old age.

The two videos reviewed in this column allow older women to speak for themselves about their own images—as well as societal perceptions—of their bodies. In Still Doing It: The Intimate Lives of Women Over 65, reviewer C. Joanne Grabinski examines the compelling stories told by nine older women about the fullness of their sexual lives in old age. The second video, Let's Face It: Women Explore Their Aging Faces, reveals some of the inherent contradictions involved in women's perceptions of their physical appearance, especially as it relates to the way the aging woman's face is central to her own identity and self-worth. Martha Holstein assembled a group of colleagues in gerontology to watch the video and reflect upon the ways in which the stories told by the women in the video connect to their own experiences and attitudes as they engage in the aging process.

Footnotes

Robert E. Yahnke, PhD, Audiovisual Editor

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