An exhibit by Clothilde Chevalier.
Images © University of Ottawa Archives and Special Collections
WOMEN ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO GROW OLD
As feminist writers of the late 1960s and early 1970s worked to dismantle inequalities faced by women, they found that most forms of discrimination were exacerbated over a woman’s lifetime. Susan Sontag, in her ground-breaking article published in 1972 in the Sunday Review of The Society, identifies the “Double Standard of Aging” as the main obstacle faced by aging women. “An instrument of oppression,” writes the author, “is the social convention that aging enhances a man but progressively destroys a woman." Society, Sontag explains, values women for their sexuality; women’s perceived value therefore supposedly lessens as their reproductive capacities decrease.
Sociologist, Dr Judith Posner, points out in her famous work, “Old and Female, the Double Whammy” that dismissive attitudes towards older women combines two stigmas: perceptions of women’s dependence on men and society's collective repulsiveness towards weakness, decay, and death.
In order to combat these negative perceptions and to encourage older women to share their experiences, activists created workshops and sessions that provided older women with strategies to reduce their sense of isolation. The workshops also aimed to normalize and embrace the aging process.
Image (L): "An Evening for Older Women," 1986, 10-006-S4-F245, Helen Levine fonds.
The workshop: “Aging dangerously,” organized by the Wisdom of Women Centre, sought to “help [women] take very small or very big risks for a more interesting, exciting, and freeing time.” Participants were split between three groups: Women 40-60, Lesbians 40+ and Women 60+. The latter group was led by Helene Levine, an activist and prominent feminist social worker who played a significant role in defending older women against social stigmas attendant with aging. Image (below): "Aging Dangerously," 1997, 10-006-S4-F42, Helen Levine fonds.
Levine's sense of frustration at the pressures placed on mothers and on women, more generally, led her to volunteer for organizations advocating for women’s rights as well as to teach feminist classes at Carleton University. Helen Levine also established Ottawa's Internal House, a shelter for women suffering domestic abuse. After retirement, Levine volunteered for the Older Women's League and founded 'The Crones,' a group for older women. Levine was prolific in her creation of enriching and meaningful activities and discussions relating to women and aging. She organized workshops (“A workshop for Women of All Ages Not Born Yesterday”), hosted screenings, and facilitated discussions (“An Evening for older Women” by Women’s Place, 1986), while also conducting related university seminars (“Issues on Aging, A Social Work Perspective – Session X Women and Aging,” 1983).
Levine was not alone in her concern for older women's experiences of social stigmatization. From the mid-1980s onwards, the larger feminist movement was also beginning to tackle the subject of aging, evidenced by the greater number of related articles and essays. Among them was the pioneering work by Barbara McDonald, Look me in the Eye: Old Women, Old Age and Ageism, published in 1984. In 1986 a book titled, Women and Aging: An Anthology by Women also gathered various perspectives on the subject, including Shevy Healey’s article expressing her opposition to ageism. Healey writes that when she was first labelled “grandmother,” she succumbed to social pressure, even making an appointment to undergo a face-lift. However, Healey came to realize that “it is not aging that is awful, nor whatever physical problem may accompany aging. What is awful is how society treats old women and their problems.”
In her 1988 essay, Susan McDaniel analyzes anti-ageist activism such as the successful 1984 pension reform protests and activities undertaken by groups like the American Grey Panthers advocacy network. McDaniel explains that women were motivated to act by their sense of frustration born from ageism, sexism and poverty. In McDaniel's view, aging may even represent a liberation from rigid gender roles, enabling women to claim their place in society.
Image (L): "Helen Levine: Lifetime Achievement Award," [1998], 10-006-S9-F5, Helen Levine fonds.
Today, organizations like the Raging Grannies (Mémés dechainés) facilitate older women’s continued full participation in society. Image (Below): "Raging Grannies, Calgary," [1999-2007], 10-100-F8, Ethel Lisbeth Donaldson fonds.
Are Lesbians Allowed to Grow Old?
In the 1980s, LGBTQ+ communities further contributed to discussions on ageism and sexism, examining their combined effects on women. These groups shed light on the influence of sexuality on aging women.
The non-profit organization, “Gays and Lesbians Aging” was founded in 1985. The organization was primarily community oriented, offering support to aging members by creating social events and providing educational sessions. The project promoted community support as a means of combatting discrimination and marginalization, in keeping with the values of LGBTQ+ groups.
The University of Ottawa’s women’s archives contains an article published by the Women’s Press in 1988: “Living in the Margins: Lesbian Aging,” by Jeanette A. Auger. Auger notes that feminist press' often fail to speak about the sexual activities of elderly women, altogether, not to mention those of elderly lesbian women, perpetuating the prevalent societal notion that aged people are asexual beings. Auger points out that the stereotype of older lesbian women as sexless, ugly, and globally uninteresting endures not only because of ageism and homophobia, but also because the lesbian community itself does not always know how to challenge prevalent stereotypes. She highlights this in the article: “… Old lesbians are thought not to exist, not only by the media but often also by the lesbian community itself.”
Elderly lesbian women face the same discriminations as their heterosexual counterparts along with additional stigmatization attendant with homophobia. These discriminations are particularly visible in senior care facilities and in the housing market. Many 1980s activists discussed establishing cooperative living communities for lesbian women as a means of providing them with safe living environments as well as accessible and supportive healthcare.
Catherine Colette's 1993 essay, "Gay and Gray" stresses the importance of creating supportive environments for LGBTQ+ communities. Collette's work offers some preliminary research findings on lesbian elders and is intended to shape welfare policy. Written for the School of Social Work of Carleton University, its publication also demonstrates that the topic has become 'mainstream' enough to be discussed by academics in the early 1990s.
Collette examines commonalities within lesbian communities: at the time of her study most were childless and faced discriminations in employment, medical and housing sectors. Collette further notes that lesbian cultures and communities provide members with meaningful senses of family and belonging. As a result, the author encourages the creation of social programs to provide lesbian women with opportunities to meet and share common experiences related to aging.
Image (L): “Banner at 1987 Toronto International Women's Day,” 10-001-S3-I330, Canadian Women’s Movement Archives (CWMA) fonds. © Johanne Pelletier.
Retiring from Housework
Organizations for aging women stress that women need to become financially independent. In the late 1970s, Canada’s retirement income system was detrimental to women's economic security. Women with income encountered problems with pension plans, taxes, and retirement benefits; whereas those without income (such as widows) were restricted by eligibility requirements (notes for a workshop session by the Canadian Association of Gerontology, 1979).
In the province of Ontario, one institution in particular was responsible for most of the reports and progress on pensions for old women: the Ontario Status of Women Council. Formed in 1973, its task was to support the objectives of the women’s movement and lobby government to achieve its goals. The Council's first brief was sent to the Royal Commission on the State of Pensions in 1977. It included recommendations regarding survivor benefits and recommended removing marital status as a criterion for pension benefits. Another brief on "Employment Strategies for Women in the 1980s" insisted on financially compensating women for their time spent raising children.
Whereas the first reports on aging women focused on relieving poverty and making the retirement system more equitable for women, the "Brief to Ontario Government on Women and Aging" in 1982 expanded to address various issues faced by older women. It explains how women are personally affected by the loss of their 'wife' and/or 'mother' status, and how unprepared they are for retirement. Many expect to be cared for by their husband or children, but after retirement, they become responsible for their own economic needs—needs which are often unmet due to low salary and/or limited pensions.
To provide elderly women with better support, the OSWC advises reforming family and succession law to facilitate home support services for the "frail elderly" (persons with disabilities) and also recommends home-sharing living arrangements, as well as better access to transportation.
In 1991, a paper by the Ontario Advisory Council on Women’s Issues identifies problems faced by aging women, including stigmatization and loss of social relationships as well as decline in health and economic status. The paper includes specific considerations for women with disabilities, Indigenous women and rural women to facilitate more in-depth understanding of aging women in Canada.
Button (R): 1980, 10-037-S4-I4, Ontario Institute of Studies in Education fonds.
On the national level, a pamphlet by the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women, published in 1986, assembles reports and statistics that underline the need to continue providing support to older women. The pamphlet emphasizes women’s strikingly longer life expectancy (78 years for women, 71 for men) and states that 80% of Canadian women over 75 are either widowed, divorced or single; yet over half of single women over 65 have no company pension plan, while 335 000 live below the poverty line. These numbers demonstrate the gender-based social inequalities affecting older women.
The Struggle Continues
Following the push for pension reform and growing social awareness of challenges faced by elderly women, the medical field also began to produce its own studies on aging women, including studies by gerontologists, gynecologists, and psychologists. Activists also debated whether menopause should be treated with synthetic hormones. More in-depth studies proved that women’s psychological environment was more important than hormonal changes in impacting women’s well-being. These findings challenge widely held societal beliefs about elderly women and prove that social change has a substantial and measurable impact on quality of life.
Catherine Colette’s 1984 article on "Genderless Mental Health and Aging" proves that “many of the problems which the elderly bring into therapy are partly the result of their internalization of society’s stereotypes or myths about the aged.” Through her work as a psychogeriatric working in rural areas, Colette was familiar with the self-depreciating terms with which women labelled themselves.
"Cover of Menopause Handbook," 1997, 10-093-S4-F19, Montreal Health Press fonds.
In that same year (1984), an article by Dolores Gold appeared in Canadian Women Studies, examining women’s and men’s differing experiences of aging. It assessed psychological well-being through a comparison of more than 400 people over 65 years of age in the Montreal region. Researchers found socio-economic factors were significant causes of older women’s high levels of anxiety and stress. The survey also noted society’s negative stereotypes about the elderly, especially in relation to older women and perceptions of their cognitive skills.
Data-based studies in fields of medicine, sociology and law encourage academics to further teach and study problems relating to aging women. The University of Ottawa’s women’s archives holds records of a student essay competition themed, “Women and Aging,” organized by the National Association of Women and the Law. Articles quoted in this exhibit, such as “Getting Older and Better” by Susan McDaniel and “The Double Whammy” by Dr. Judith Posner were used as basis’ for lectures at the universities of Toronto and Waterloo.
It is through women’s committed activism that society is beginning to recognize issues faced by marginalized and minority elderly women.
The University of Ottawa’s Archives and Special Collections is committed to facilitating access to records documenting individuals and organizations that have worked to improve the status of women in Canada, including those of under-represented groups.
Image (L): "Gender Studies," 2010, © Christopher P. Michel.
Primary Sources
CANADIAN WOMEN'S MOVEMENT ARCHIVES COLLECTION FONDS
Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women (CACSW) / Conseil consultatif canadien sur la situation de la femme (CCCSF) – Pamphlets: 10-001-S1-F330 8-3
Canadian Association of Gerontology: 10-001-S1-F345 8-18
Ontario Status of Women Council / Conseil ontarien du statut de la femme – Briefs : 10-001-S1-F2451 74-31
Gays and Lesbians Aging: 10-001-S1-F1036 28-29
Aging, Press clippings, correspondence and leaflet: 10-002-S19-SS3 22-3
"Gay and Gray: The Needs of Lesbian Elders", 'Mental Health and Aging": 10-006-S3-SS3-F10 4-20
"Sex Differences in the Experience of Aging": 10-006-S3-SS5-F141 11-46
“Growing to be an Old Woman: Aging and Ageism": 10-006-S3-SS5-F162 12-16
Aging dangerously workshop records: 10-006-S4-F42 18-17
The double standards of aging article: 10-006-S4-F231 22-23
Aging workshop records: 10-006-S4-F245 23-4
Khyatt, Didi, Lesbian Studies Articles: 10-012-S2-SS3-F24 11-15
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN AND THE LAW FONDS
Second Essay Contest (1987-1988) Women and Aging: 10-036-S6-F2 18.2
CANADIAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN FONDS
Feminist Perspectives # 11 - McDaniel S. et al. - Getting older and better. Women and gender assumptions in Canada's aging society: 10-042-S12-F13 18.8
WOMEN'S STUDIES PROGRAM, UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA FONDS
Ontario Advisory Council on Women's Issues - Raising the issues: A Discussion paper on Aging women in Ontario: 10-050-S3-F21 2.30
Additional References
Beauvoir, Simone de. La vieillesse. Paris : Gallimard, 1970.
Bozon, Michel, Juliette Rennes, and Siân Reynolds. “The History of Sexual Norms: The Hold of Age and Gender". Clio. Women, Gender, History. Number 42, 2015, pp. 7–23.
Browne, Colette. Women, Feminism, and Aging. New-York: Springer, 1998.
Charpentier, Michèle, et al. "Les femmes aînées et l’engagement social : une analyse exploratoire du cas des Mémés déchaînées." Lien social et Politiques. Number 51, 2004, pp. 135–143.
Dulude, Louise. Women & Aging: A Report on the Rest of Our Lives. Ottawa: Advisory Council on the Status of Women, 1978.
Macdonald, Barbara, and Cynthia. Rich. Look Me in the Eye : Old Women, Aging, and Ageism. London: Womens Press, 1984.
Robert, July. "Vieillir femme". La Revue Nouvelle. Volume 11, Number 3, 2022, pp. 43-48.