Abstract

MOTTA, Alda Britto da. Old Women too. Ex aequo [online]. 2011, n.23, pp.13-21. ISSN 0874-5560.

Despite the clear heterogeneity that informs the social and analytical category «women», when we speak of women the notion that comes through is always that of young adult women. They are the ones who perform the more dynamic or socially expected roles - be they the usual traditional ones, that figure in the still idealized nuclear family, be they those of the contemporary professionals, in new roles in the labor market and in politics. For them are formulated the most basic social policies: access to educational practices; health care, with campaigns always geared towards women in reproductive age; the newest attention to the issue of violence against women, seen academically as simply a matter of gender. In this paper we argue that old women also exist and express themselves, not as «social problems» nor as nasty old ladies or sweet grannies, but as much freer, healthier, more sexually alive and creative women than old women in past generations.

Keywords : old women; gender relations; generations; social policies.

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