WUNRN
WOMEN & AGEING – IMAGES –
RESEARCH
- Women in their 50s–60s felt more pressure from media
and advertising imagery compared with participants in their 80–90s. - Eighty-eight per cent of visitors to the project
exhibitions wanted to see more images of older women, like those created
through the project, displayed in public. - Participants captured various experiences from
continued public involvement, friendships and fun to fears of increasing
limitations and invisibility. Images challenged stereotypes such as the
‘grumpy old woman’ and reflected rarely represented grief and loss. - Participants wanted to see more images of
‘ordinary’ older women who were still ‘making a contribution’. - Images produced by participants showed that women
experience ageing at the site of the body, for example in the form of
wrinkles and greying hair. - Participatory visual methods gave women a sense
of solidarity and ownership of the research process, impacting on
well-being and a feeling of public validation.
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LOOK AT ME! IMAGES OF WOMEN &
AGEING
The
New Dynamics of Ageing Project was launched in Sheffield in October 2009. The
research project, based at the Department of Sociological Studies at The
University of Sheffield, aims to harness the power of the creative arts to
transform the way society views older women.
The research team are in the process of running a series of creative, group
workshops to explore how women are represented in the media (newspapers,
television, magazines) and society as they grow older. The workshops are
investigating the messages these images give out and how they affect women´s
well-being. The workshop facilitators will then work with participants using
photographic, art therapy, and video techniques to create new and alternative images
of women and ageing. To date, “ordinary” older women have not had the
opportunity to either comment on, or create, their own images of ageing. This
project aims to use a variety of visual methods to enable older women in
Sheffield to represent their own experiences of ageing.
The images produced in these workshops will eventually be exhibited in
public venues, including an art gallery and a shopping centre in Sheffield.
There is also the potential to exhibit the images further afield. At the
exhibition events, members of the public will be asked to respond to the images
they see to help inform the research team´s understanding of how people react
to stereotypes of older women, and if there is any public appetite for images
which offer an alternative view on ageing.
The project is being led by a team of researchers from the University of
Sheffield and Derby , by Eventus, a Sheffield-based cultural development
agency, and by Rosy Martin, an artist and photo-therapist. This is a two year
collaborative project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council as
part of the New
Dynamics of Ageing Programme.
The Madrid International Action Plan on Ageing identified as one of its
objectives the ‘need to facilitate contributions of older women and men to the
presentation by the media of their activities and concerns’ (Second World
Assembly on Ageing 2003). The importance of creating new images of ageing and
counteracting preconceived biases and myths was identified as a particular
concern in relation to older women. Older people are heavily under-represented
within our image-saturated society. Those images that are available generally
represent older people as either frail and dependent or as ageing ‘positively’
and belying their physical age. However, ageism is gendered: women’s experience
of ageing is deeply rooted in their appearance, in particular the perception of
their aged bodies which ironically renders them invisible in later life and can
subsequently impact on the assigning to them of social value, resources and
opportunities. Such invisibility is being increasingly explored and challenged
by women both within popular culture and through academic work but still in
limited ways: for example, Trinny and Susannah’s efforts uncritically buy into
the anti-ageing industry and focus on heterosexual women, while biographical
accounts have been written largely by white, middle class feminists (e.g
Germaine Greer) and/or focus on relatively specific aspects of embodiment.
However, with a few exceptions, ‘ordinary’ older women have not had the
opportunity to either comment on, or create, their own images of ageing and old
age. Indeed, while the participation of older people in research is broadly accepted
as a good thing, its potential remains underdeveloped. Even where democratic
approaches have been taken to participation, with an emphasis on process and
empowerment, older people have typically been involved narrowly as (potential)
users of welfare services.
A range of visual research methods will be used to produce knowledge and
gain an understanding of older women’s everyday experiences. Although visual
methods are being developed by sociologists, they are generally
under-represented as a research method in the social sciences and, in
particular, within social gerontology. However, social science researchers are
increasingly concerned with developing collaborative approaches that rise to
the challenge of producing knowledge and understanding that resonate with
everyday lives. Visual techniques offer considerable innovative potential
within this context. The use of images has been identified as a particularly
useful springboard for discussion of sensitive topics with women.
The impact of the ‘Look at Me! Images of Women & Ageing’ project will
be:
- Practical, in older women’s production of visual
materials providing powerful statements about women’s experiences of
ageing and equipping them with a novel means of challenging stereotypes. - Methodological, in developing new approaches to
participatory research with older people. - Theoretical, in demonstrating the contribution methods
developed in the arts can make to the discipline of social gerontology. - Applied, in providing the policy-making arena with new
ways of capturing needs and fostering well-being and social inclusion
through longer-term interest in arts among older women and also the
audiences viewing their images.
The outputs from the project will include :
- Images reproduced as postcards and banners and
represented in local media, in addition to being shown at the exhibitions; - A DVD to be distributed to participants and relevant
stakeholders; - A consolidated research report on ageism, gender, the
arts and social inclusion; - Academic journal articles and conference presentations
in the fields of gerontology, the arts, visual and cultural studies,
expressive therapies, sociology and social policy; - Presentations, articles and policy briefings for
professionals and practitioners involved in arts and health projects
within the region; - The potential of producing a photographic “coffee
table” book to document the project will also be explored with
participants.
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