Old bodies and the beauty of dusk: a study on the meanings of corporeality in later life

Abstract

The aging population is nowadays a global phenomenon, so it becomes increasingly important to study the significances of the body in old age, as well as public policies for the elderly. The aims of this research were to understand the meanings the individuals give to the body during the aging process, analyze what kind of aesthetic the elderly attribute to their bodies today and investigate the body changes of individuals during their lives. To face these objectives with the depth the topic and methodology required, we selected a nucleus in a neighborhood of Fortaleza, with a population of 30 elderly people, where, for the interviews, we relied on a sample of six participants. It was found that the body works as a time frame where its main mark rest on young body image; also, that the beauty of the old body, re-signified by participants, is not linked solely to the conventional pattern, but to the issues of health, vitality, and above all a sense of wellbeing.