Aging Bodies in Paradise: A Feminist Analysis of Key West’s Fantasy Fest

2022 ◽  
pp. 232949652110628
Author(s):  
Rachel Douglas ◽  
Anne E. Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Older Women ◽  
Social Deviance ◽  
Feminist Analysis ◽  
Key West ◽  
Sexual Appeal ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
Cultural Ideology ◽  
Cultural Constructions ◽  
Group Acceptance ◽  
Scholarly Attention

Cultural constructions of gender and age may be challenged within politically and socially progressive leisure environments, like Key West, that promote social deviance and out-group acceptance. However, this possibility receives limited scholarly attention. Addressing this gap, our study applies a framework that highlights gender and age as performances and uses interviews ( n = 77) collected in 2017 and 2018 at Key West’s Fantasy Fest, an annual carnivalesque event characterized by body displays of nudity, body paint, and costume. In this first systematic study of Fantasy Fest, data analysis revealed four themes centering on gender, age, and bodies—displaying diverse bodies; judging bodies; limiting body displays; and reinterpreting body-related norms. Key West’s cultural ideology of inclusion allowed both young and old participants to perform gender and age in ways that contributed to a more liberating environment celebrating a range of bodies—though performances were constrained by inequalities. Bodies, especially women’s, were subjected to judgments of their sexual appeal that led some, especially older women, to limit their displays. Our findings, nevertheless, suggest progressive, carnivalesque leisure environments’ potential, however fleeting or bounded, to disrupt everyday performances and broaden conceptions of gendered and aging bodies by reinterpreting the norms surrounding them.

scholarly journals AGING BODIES IN PARADISE? AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF FANTASY FEST IN KEY WEST, FLORIDA

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S458-S458
Author(s):  
Rachel A Douglas ◽  
Anne Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Age And Gender ◽  
Key West ◽  
Sexual Appeal ◽  
Body Adornment ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Bodily Difference ◽  
Cultural Constructions ◽  
Group Acceptance

Abstract Dominant cultural constructions of aging bodies, particularly those of women, as unattractive and asexual may be challenged within politically and socially progressive leisure environments, like Key West, Florida, that promote out-group acceptance, collectivity, and cultural diversity. However, this possibility receives limited scholarly attention. Addressing this gap, our study employs observational and interview data (n=60) collected in 2017 and 2018 at Key West’s Fantasy Fest – an annual event marketed as a “10-day party in paradise for grown-ups.” The festival, drawing as many as 100,000 people, cultivates a relaxed atmosphere permissive of nudity and theatrical body adornment, including body paint and costume. This feature makes it an ideal site for examining the effect of inequalities, including age and gender, on body displays and social reactions to them. Data analysis revealed four themes centering on aging bodies – Judging Bodies, Limiting Body Displays, Displaying Bodily Difference, and Liberating Bodies. Age and gender inequality strongly influenced judgments of attractiveness and sexual appeal, contributing to older participants’ more limited body displays. Nevertheless, both young and old participants collectively contributed to creating a liberating environment that celebrates bodily difference and encourages cross-age interaction. While limited to one site with a unique political and social climate, our study suggests the potential of progressive leisure environments to broaden notions of aging bodies and encourage cross-age connections.

scholarly journals Body mass index and mild cognitive impairment among rural older adults in China: the moderating roles of gender and age

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yemin Yuan ◽  
Jie Li ◽  
Nan Zhang ◽  
Peipei Fu ◽  
Zhengyue Jing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Older People ◽  
Older Women ◽  
Older Men ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
Low Bmi ◽  
Rural Older Adults

Abstract Background Evidence concerning the association between body mass index (BMI) and cognitive function among older people is inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate gender and age as moderators in association between BMI and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) among rural older adults. Methods Data were derived from the 2019 Health Service for Rural Elderly Families Survey in Shandong, China. In total, 3242 people aged 60 years and above were included in the analysis. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression was used to examine the moderating roles of gender and age, then further to explore the relationship between BMI and MCI. Results There were 601 (18.5%) participants with MCI. Compared with normal BMI group, low BMI group had a higher risk of MCI among older people [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.08, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.26–3.44], women (aOR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.35–3.12), or the older elderly aged ≥75 years old (aOR = 3.20, 95% CI: 1.34–7.45). This effect remained statistically significant among older women (aOR = 3.38, 95% CI: 1.69–6.73). Among older men, elevated BMI group had a higher risk of MCI (aOR = 2.32, 95% CI: 1.17–4.61) than normal BMI group. Conclusions Gender and age moderated the association between BMI and MCI among Chinese rural older adults. Older women with low BMI were more likely to have MCI, but older men with elevated BMI were more likely to have MCI. These findings suggest rural community managers strengthen the health management by grouping the weight of older people to prevent the risk of dementia.

scholarly journals Negotiating Gendered Ageing: Intersectional Reflexivity and Experiences of Incongruity of Self-Employed Older Women

2021 ◽  
pp. 095001702199448
Author(s):  
Elina Meliou ◽  
Oliver Mallett
Keyword(s):  
Older Women ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Gender And Age

This article analyses the experiences of self-employed older women. Developing an intersectional reflexivity approach, our analysis shows how older women negotiate their concerns in relation to gendered ageing and realize self-employment. Our study reveals three practices: ‘Expressing the self’, ‘Exploring learning’ and ‘Embracing solidarity’. We contribute to the neglected intersection of gender and age in studies of work, and to an appreciation of the transformational potential of self-employment for older women.

Women at physical work stations – limitations resulting from gender and age

2019 ◽  
Vol 573 (6) ◽  
pp. 12-15
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Łastowiecka
Keyword(s):  
Older Women ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Body Position ◽  
Work Load ◽  
Physical Work ◽  
Recreational Physical Activity ◽  
Physical Effort ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Gender And Age

Contemporary studies indicate the lack of a positive impact of high physical effort in professional work on health, especially in connection with the deficit of recreational physical activity during leisure time. Women, due to physiological conditions, are not able to perform all activities at work equally with men. This applies in particular to work related to physical effort, transport of weights and forced body position. In the case of older women, apart from the physiological differences dictated by gender, functional changes occurring in the ageing human body, which also significantly reduce the ability to perform physical work, are added. The problem of employers disregarding hard physical labour leads to adverse effects for both them and their companies. Excessive work load and, associated with it, fatigue of employees result in inferior quality and work efficiency and the increase in sick leave due to ailments and illnesses. Therefore, it seems obvious to adapt the work station and working conditions to the needs of older women that perform physical work.

Gender and age implications of extended working life policies in the US and Ireland

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 464-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Áine Ní léime ◽  
Debra Street
Keyword(s):  
Older Women ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Life Trajectories ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
The Us ◽  
Pension Costs ◽  
Pension Age ◽  
State Pension ◽  
Diverse Groups

Policies designed to extend working life and reduce pension costs have been the dominant policy response to population ageing. Such policies include increasing state pension age, flexible working and privatisation of pensions. Despite men’s and women’s typically different work-life trajectories, policymakers have paid little attention to either the differential effects of such policies on the economic well-being of older women and men, or to the implications for diverse groups of women. This article on policy, employment and pension outcomes in the US and Ireland analyses these issues, using a feminist political economy of ageing framework to assess the likely gender implications of these policy trends. It finds that existing and proposed reforms are likely to take what are already poor pension and employment outcomes for many contemporary older women and make them even worse in future. It concludes with suggested policy modifications and future avenues for research.

Management of Parkinson's disease in older women

2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly Daymont Price ◽  
Lisa M Shulman
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Older Women ◽  
Elderly Women ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Specific Patient ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
Surgical Treatments ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Elderly women with Parkinson's disease (PD) represent a specific patient population that may benefit from individualized treatment strategies. PD has been shown to occur approximately twice as often in men than in women, resulting in theories regarding estrogen being protective against the disease and as a potential treatment strategy. Given women's longer life expectancy they are more likely to reach an age where antiparkinsonian medications are associated with side-effects. This paper will review medical and surgical treatments as well as the relationship of gender and age with respect to the management of PD.

Prevalence and variety of HPV types in dependence on gender and age.

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e17575-e17575
Author(s):  
Tatiana A. Zykova ◽  
Vera P. Nikitina ◽  
Oksana E. Zhenilo ◽  
Ekaterina V. Verenikina ◽  
Viktoria A. Ivanova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Women ◽  
Common Type ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Typical Structure ◽  
Oncogenic Potential ◽  
Younger Patients ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
Simultaneous Infection ◽  
Hpv Types ◽  
Potential Impact

e17575 Background: Analysis of the typical structure of age, sex and territorial patterns of HPV spread is of interest, since it allows assessing the potential impact of modern immunoprophylaxis. The purpose of the study was to analyze the prevalence and variety of HPV types in dependence on gender and age. Methods: The study included 424 patients (334 women and 90 men) under 45 years of age (228 women and 46 men) and over 46 years old (106 and 44, respectively). Vaginal and cervical swabs were examined in women and urethral swabs in men. DNA extraction was performed by Real-time PCR. Results: HPV DNAs were found in 150(35.4%) patients, including 115(34.4%) women and 35(38.9%) men (p > 0.05). HPV was less frequently detected in older women, and more frequently in older men. Thus, HPV DNAs were found in 85(37.3%) women < 45 years and in 30(28.3%, p = 0.068) women >46 years; in men – 14(30.9%) and 21(47.7%, p = 0.071), respectively. Some HPV types were more frequent in younger patients, compared to older ones: in 26(26.3%) and in 5(9.8%), p = 0.068) of HPV-positive patients, respectively. The most common HPV types were 16(46.7%), 52(16.0%), 56(12.7%), 31(10.7%); HPV16 dominated both in females - 50(50.4%) and males - 12(34.6%). After HPV16, most frequent types in women were: 31-12(11.3%) and 52-13(11.3%), 18-12(10.4%) and 56-119(, 6%); in men - 52-11(31.4%), 56-8(22.9%), 45-4(11.4%) and 18-3(8.6%) types. The total share of two HPV types with the greatest oncogenic potential (types 16 and 18) was 85(56.7%) of all HPV-positive patients, and in women it was higher than in men: 70(60.9) vs. 15(42.9%, p = 0.046), respectively. Conclusions: Simultaneous infection with several HPV types was statistically significantly more often detected in younger patients compared with the older age group among men. HPV16 was the most common type both in men and women; however, the rates of other HPV types differed. Cumulative frequency of types 16 and 18 was statistically significantly higher in women, compared to men.

Growing old with media technology and the material experience of ageing

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilie Givskov
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Older Women ◽  
Cell Phones ◽  
Natural Ageing ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Media Technology ◽  
The Media ◽  
Ageing Body ◽  
Cultural Constructions ◽  
Material Ageing

During the 20th and 21st century, media such as radio, telephone, television, computers and cell phones moved into everyday life as taken-for-granted elements. Based on observations and life-history interviews with 22 older women, this article discusses how media technology is materially involved in the experience of growing old. The analysis reveals two aspects of this. First, different technology stands out from its background presence as problematic because the media no longer enable the experiences they used to. Second, disconnects with and through media technology direct attention towards the declining body. The participants embody ‘old age’ by linking their experience with media to two cultural constructions of material ageing: generation and natural ageing. I argue that inasmuch as everyday life has become mediatized, the experience of growing old also takes place with and through media technology. This article forms part of ‘Media and the Ageing Body’ Special Issue.

Older Women and Leisure in Singapore

1997 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 649-672 ◽  
Author(s):  
PEGGY TEO
Keyword(s):  
Gender Roles ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Older Women ◽  
Leisure Activities ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
The Public ◽  
Material Resources ◽  
The Third ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
The Public Sphere

The leisure of older women is subject to prejudices of both ageism and sexism. Gender roles and identities lock women into leisure which is experienced mostly within the confines of the home. The lack of material resources also limits their ability to undertake a wider range, as well as a greater number, of leisure activities within the public sphere outside the home. These conditions become emphasised in the more mature years of a woman's life, such that leisure expectations that are assumed for the Third Age seldom materialise. In the study of older women in Singapore, it was found that many engaged in home-bound activities and where these extended into public spaces, the activities conformed to gender and age expectations and according to material resources. The paper argues that leisure, especially for older women, must be contextualised; it requires an understanding of how social ideologies construct gender and age identities and roles, and therefore shape the leisure outcomes and spaces in which they are carried out.

scholarly journals Age-related differences in stair descent balance control: Are women more prone to falls than men?

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0244990
Author(s):  
Zuzana Kováčiková ◽  
Javad Sarvestan ◽  
Erika Zemková
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Older Women ◽  
Balance Control ◽  
Centre Of Pressure ◽  
Stair Descent ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
One Step ◽  
Main Effects ◽  
Forward Falls

Stair descent is one of the most common forms of daily locomotion and concurrently one of the most challenging and hazardous daily activities performed by older adults. Thus, sufficient attention should be devoted to this locomotion and to the factors that affect it. This study investigates gender and age-related differences in balance control during and after stair descent on a foam mat. Forty-seven older adults (70% women) and 38 young adults (58% women) performed a descent from one step onto a foam mat. Anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) centre of pressure velocity (CoP) and standard deviation of the CoP sway were investigated during stair descent and restabilization. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed the main effects of age for the first 5 s of restabilization. Older women exhibited significantly higher values of CoP sway and velocity in both directions compared to the younger individuals (CoP SDAP5, 55%; CoP SDML5, 30%; CoP VAP5, 106%; CoP VML5, 75%). Men achieved significantly higher values of CoP sway and velocity only in the AP direction compared to their younger counterparts (CoP SDAP5, 50% and CoP VAP5, 79%). These findings suggest that with advancing age, men are at higher risk of forward falls, whereas women are at higher risk of forward and sideways falls.

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