The Other Within Us: Feminist Perspectives on Women and Aging

Pearsall (Women and Values: Readings in Recent Feminist Philosophy) has edited this collection of scholarly pieces about female aging because of her conviction that contemporary feminist theorists have neglected this issue. Several carefully researched essays address aging within a sociological context, such as elderly women in urban areas (Elizabeth W. Markson, Bess B. Hess), older African American women (Jacquelyne Johnson Jackson) and the impact of race and class on aging (Paula L. Dressel). In a provocative piece concerning the prejudicial treatment older women in lesbian communities receive from such groups' younger members, the late Baba Copper critiques Susan Sontag's essay ""The Double Standard of Aging"" (reprinted here) as both hetero-sexist and ageist. Germaine Greer contributes her interesting though occasionally rambling thoughts on the liberating aspects of getting older, and Joanna Frueh discusses the problems of aging female artists. This collection will be of interest primarily to those working in women's studies or gerontology. (Apr.)