Body images among men and women of different ages

Abstract

The exterior territories, or surfaces, of the body have become symbols of the self in late modernity. People are increasingly overwhelmed with messages of youthful ideals: how to stay young or how to get old without signs of ageing. However, studies of the effects of these images on people's own experiences as they grow older seem to be lacking. The present paper reports an empirical study which focuses on body image for men and women of different ages. Four hypotheses, derived from social gerontological theories, are developed and tested against data: the female beauty hypothesis, the double marginality hypothesis, the ageing mask hypothesis and the ageless self hypothesis. The survey, undertaken by 2,002 Swedes, reveals a response pattern with basically positive body images that, for women, is increasingly positive with age. The results are, thus, in sharp contrast to the gerontophobic messages from consumer culture as well as contrary to some gerontological theories.