Fictions of the City

Taunton, Matthew

doi:10.1057/9780230244917

Cited by 14 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Old men could mitigate the threat to their masculinity caused by loss of strength, mobility and vitality by adopting the cultural ageing ideal of pious, studious, wise and sober ageing 'decorum' and passive 'cheerfulness', as advocated by the writings of Cicero and contemporary religious authors. 101 Historians have long acknowledged the conflicting depictions of old people in early modern England as either targets of ridicule for their bodily decays, or wise and respected figures of authority. 102 Those who had the means to maintain a lifestyle of devout and intellectual contemplation and study might have access to a venerated ageing masculinity, and could 'sublimate the weakening of the physical self by strengthening the mind and spirit'.…”

Section: 'Effeminated' Old Menmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…98 The harsh mockery of old men's infirmities seems to have been generally related to their non-adherence to society's behavioural expectations for their life stage, and attempts to deny or mask their ageing decay. 99 It was the incongruity between a man's bodily weakness and his pursuit of vital, youthful gratifications, such as marrying a much younger woman, that provoked most vilification. Nonetheless, even though decrepit, old men may have been one of the weaker, less powerful 'others' that, by comparison, helped constitute prime manhood, this did not necessarily equate to their feminisation.…”

Section: 'Effeminated' Old Menmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Masculine Old Women or Feminine Old Men? Rethinking Gender and the Ageing Body in Early Modern English Medicine

Bolissian

2022

Gender & History

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article challenges the almost universal historiographical claim that women's bodies were thought to become increasingly masculine as they aged in early modern English medicine, especially after menopause. It is not surprising that this 'masculinisation hypothesis' has endured with very little critical appraisal, as there have been few in-depth studies into medical conceptions of ageing womanhood. Drawing on c.140 English vernacular medical and popular health texts published between 1570 and 1730, this article interrogates and refutes key claims for the corporeal 'manliness' of old women. Instead, it argues that while medicine undoubtedly depicted old women and men as growing closer in bodily constitution as they aged, this generic ageing constitution had more 'feminine' corporeal attributes than 'masculine'. Exploring references to 'effeminated' old men within medical books, it then questions the impact of these medical gender associations within wider cultural contexts.Once women were too old to conceive children, medical works published in early modern England generally lost interest in them. Before the late seventeenth century, specific references to old women were relegated to what Daniel Schäfer has called the 'marginalia' of surviving texts on senescence. 1 Even after a publishing boom in women's health and midwifery from the mid-1600s, only a handful of books addressed possible health concerns during or following the age-related cessation of a woman's monthly 'courses', what modern medicine might call menopausal symptoms. Rather than referring to old women as patients, medical writers were far more likely to mention the 'illiterate crew' of ageing female healers. 2 Perhaps, as a consequence of this dearth of contemporary comment, there has been very little in-depth research into published medical conceptions of ageing women's bodies, and one ubiquitous assertion has endured with very little critical appraisal. Histories of medicine, old age and gender have almost universally interpreted the rare passages on this subject to mean that women grew more 'masculine' as they became old. 3 This assertion stems from three main sources: the conflation of specific non-menstruating women -who were described as 'manly' in the texts -and post-menopausal women; the link between manliness, gout and old women; and gendered readings of ageing bodily characteristics such as 'dryness'. 4 Drawing on English vernacular medical and popular health

show abstract

Section: 'Effeminated' Old Menmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: 'Effeminated' Old Menmentioning

confidence: 99%