期刊名称：International Journal of Ageing and Later Life
印刷版ISSN：1652-8670
出版年度：2007
卷号：02
期号：01
页码：61-61–83
DOI：10.3384/ijal.1652-8670.072161
出版社：Linkoping University Electronic Press
摘要：Consumer culture has placed the ageing body in a dilemma of representation. Physical appearance has become increasingly important as a symbol of identity, and at the same time society idealizes youth. This study explores visual ageing empirically. By using photographs of older persons (70+) as starting point, it is explored how visual age is assessed and interpreted. It is shown that informants read age in a spread of stages and categories. Main age indicators are biological markers: skin, eyes, and hair colour, but supplemented by vigour, style, and grooming. Furthermore, in-depth interviews indicate that visual age is mainly interpreted into categories and moral regulations rooted in early modernity. Subsequently the question of a postmodern perspective of visual ageing is discussed in this article. The empirical findings in the study question a postmodern fluidity of visual signs – at least when the concern is signs of ageing.
关键词：Signs, ageing, appearance, age assessment, postmodernity, body
