Midlife and Aging- Huo Ling (Helen) Ruan

What does age mean to you? Is it just a number? Is it based on appearance/function? According to Crawford, “age is subjective. Its meaning is defined by social consensus, and the criteria differ from one time and place to another.”

How do you identify your age and how does society identify you?
Although I am not in my mid-life yet, when asked what is your age? I would say 21 and I am young. However, when my birthday comes, I will say ahh. .I’m growing old.(It is interesting that for some people, once they pass a certain age, they will view growing old as a negative thing.) This is self identity. When a stranger sees me, they would say oh you look so young, are you 18? This is social identity. Society views people based on their appearance where you identify you age with perhaps a number or based on a feeling.

Imagine this: remember watching magic shows? The magician puts something in a hat or behind a curtain then POOF, they disappear (You know it’s still somewhere). Yes, there are little or even no images of older women in today’s media. As Crawford explains, they are invisible. How often do you see images of older women in the front cover of magazines? Or as the main character in a movie. It is not to say there are absolutely no images of older women in society because there is. In fact there are images of older men as well. Images of older women and emphasizes their gender norms. Older women, for example grandmas are shown as more nurturing and older men are shown as still strong. Women are still viewed as the main care takers. Grandmothers take care of their grand children and sometimes play the role of a parent. Some older women however are displayed as evil. Think back when you were a kid, watching those Disney movies. Why is the witch or evil step mother always old? Movies or images like those portray older women as negative. This shows that we stereotype older women.

As people grow older their health decreases. There are health disparities among the older population. Women live longer than men but they are less satisfied with the services they receive. Those who are poor and part of the minority population face even devastating health outcomes. They receive less health care and less likely to have money to buy retirement funds. Being able to afford retirement funds and how that person’s mid-life would be is partly based on their social class. Futhermore on the health aspect, menopause is medicalized! Yes the health industry would medicalized anything so they can squeeze money out of you! Some women would go for estrogen replacement therapy or hormone replacement therapy to relieve signs of menopause and prevent signs of aging.

Think about this: If you were to create a HIV/AIDS program, who would you target? There few programs that target the older population. Why? Maybe because we don’t believe they have sex anymore. Studies show that older women are not as sexually active as older men. Older men would do anything and take anything to keep their libido up. Many older men take Viagra.

As men are more concerned with their sexual function as they grow old, women are more concerned with their appearance. That provides so much business for the beauty industry. Women spend so much money on skincare products/therapy and makeup.
What is difference between retirement for a man and women? For women, even though you are not working outside, you are working inside the house. Studies show that women does majority of the housework after they retire whereas for men, they rarely do any house work unless there’s something wrong with the wife. Crawford indicates that retirement is “a mechanism that is biased by age, gender, and social class- one that may maintain and even magnify the gender hierarchies of young adulthood”.

As we approach our mid-life, think about all the factors around aging. Do you feel that all the things associated with aging is negative? You can make a difference in many ways! Be involved in elder activism, take charge of your life, resist ageism!