From double to triple standards of ageing. Perceptions of physical appearance at the intersections of age, gender and class.

Since the 1970s, when Susan Sontag coined the term, discussions on the double standard of ageing has continued to evolve. Recently, scholars of feminist gerontology have called for an intersectional approach to address cultural norms of physical appearance and ageing. In this paper, we aim to investigate whether men and women internalise ageist norms differently; that is, double standards of ageing exist. Second, we explore whether self-identified social class affects the internalisation of these norms. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to examine the double and triple standards of ageing with nationally representative data (N = 1600). Drawing from Bourdieusian capital theory, sociology of the body, consumer culture, and feminist gerontology, we suggest that the double standard of ageing exists for women who feel that ageing erodes their appearance, give more importance to their appearance than men, and fear looking old from an early age. Further, a 'triple standard' is also traced. Our results indicate that ageing working-class women are less confident about their appearances than upper-class women. Thus, upper-middle-class women seem less vulnerable to the negative aspects of ageing than women who have less social, cultural, and economic capital to enhance their ageing appearance. The triple standard extends to men as well: appearance is evaluated as equally important by upper-middle-class middle-aged men as by women of similar age and social background. Alternatively, our results could be interpreted as upper-middle-class people experiencing more restrictive norms regarding ageing; that is, such people are compelled to seek anti-ageing solutions and are not allowed to surrender to the natural ageing process.

ICT activity in later life: Internet use and leisure activities amongst senior citizens in Finland.

The article examines the relationship between the Internet use and leisure activities amongst Finnish seniors. Traditionally, the young have been the most active users of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICTs). In recent years, however, older age groups have increasingly become more interested in ICT, yet a significant proportion of Finnish seniors rarely log on. Using data from a nationally representative survey (N = 542) conducted in the summer of 2010, we explored the connection between the frequent Internet use and general leisure activity. The basic socio-demographic variables were controlled in the analysis. The findings indicate that the active Internet use in old age has a strong positive correlation with the number of different leisure activities amongst Finnish seniors. As most European societies continue to age, it is clear that future research should focus on the implications and the role the Internet and other new ICTs will play in the everyday life amongst the ageing citizens.