Women, Feminism, and Aging in Appalachia

Aging has become a problem for men and women in Western societies where youth is touted and revered as a standard of success by which individual value is measured and esteemed. Older women in particular find that as they age they face discrimination in the form of ageism and social diminution. The purpose of the study is to remedy a lack of scholarship on aging in Appalachia and to establish a precedent for future studies. A liberal, feminist approach is used to analyze the results of recorded interviews and to interpret transcripts of relevant data. The results of the analysis are mixed owing to the heterogeneity of the women interviewed and the differences in personal circumstances, socioeconomic status, and levels of education that influence their perceptions. Limitations of the study include: the size of the sample, and a lack of ethnic diversity.