From: "Saved by Windows Internet Explorer 10" Subject: =?Windows-1252?Q?The_International_Journal_of_Aging_and_Society_=BB_Older?= =?Windows-1252?Q?_Women_Want_to_Look_Good_Despite_Media_Pressure_to_Look_?= =?Windows-1252?Q?Young?= Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2015 15:54:26 +0100 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; type="text/html"; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0000_01D0B996.5E1AEC00" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.1.7601.17609 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0000_01D0B996.5E1AEC00 Content-Type: text/html; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://ijj.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.212/prod.113 =EF=BB=BF
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Article: Print | $US10.00 | |
Published online: January 5, 2015 | $US5.00 |
The media=E2=80=99s obsession with a = youthful appearance=20 can have detrimental effects on older adults=E2=80=99 well-being. = Scholars have argued=20 that the anti-ageing movement, rather than ageing itself, should be = contested.=20 From an evolutionary psychology perspective attractiveness is related to = mating=20 preference. This poses an issue for older women who are bombarded with = idealised=20 images of youthfulness equating to beauty in media and society. For = many, the=20 result is distorted body image, low self-esteem and poor health. It is = clear=20 that appearance matters and therefore many women manage the appearance = of their=20 ageing skin by using cosmetics or medical interventions. The main = objective of=20 this paper was to investigate the influence of the media=E2=80=99s = obsession with=20 youthful appearance on women aged over 60 and the impact of this on = their=20 attitudes towards managing the skin ageing process. Individual = semi-structured=20 interviews were conducted with 21 participants whose mean age was 65.38 = years.=20 Ten of the participants had used some type of medical intervention = (chemical=20 peels, Botox, skin fillers, cosmetic surgery, laser and HRT). These = formed the=20 Medical group; the other eleven used skin care products and regimes but = had not=20 undergone medical interventions. These were the Non-medical group. The=20 transcripts were thematically analysed and showed that although the = participants=20 objected to the negative portrayal of older women in the media and to = pressures=20 to conform to a youthful appearance, they were not unduly influenced by = this.=20 Instead they were overwhelmingly in favour of looking good rather than = looking=20 young or even looking younger and the majority was not interested in = cosmetic=20 surgery. Taking a social constructivist approach, the findings challenge = those=20 which suggest women are weakened by the pressures of media = representations of=20 youthfulness as the only goal. The women in our study were aware of the=20 pressures to look young, but were generally more concerned with looking=20 good.
Keywords: | Ageing Skin, Appearance, Cosmetic Surgery, Media Representations = of=20 Women |
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The International Journal of Aging and Society, Volume=20 5, Issue=20 1, March 2015, pp.1-10. Article: Print (Spiral Bound). = Published=20 online: January 5, 2015 (Article: Electronic (PDF File; 522.718KB)). =
Reader in Psychology, Graduate = School, London=20 College of Fashion, University of the Arts, London, UK
Associate Lecturer/Visiting = Practitioner,=20 London College of Fashion, University of the Arts, London, UK
Professor in Cosmetic Science, = Graduate School,=20 London College of Fashion, University of the Arts, London, UK