Susan Sontag's The Double Standard Of Aging

The Double Standard of Aging (1972) is an essay by Susan Sontag. It’s a rigorous analysis of the different ways in which women and men experience old age. Sontag sees old age as a more unpleasant experience for women than for men, because the social environment defines women more rigidly. Unlike men, who are valued for their capacities such as unique thoughts and actions, women are more likely to be valued for their innate sexual appeal and beauty. Female beauty is associated with grace, frailty and innocence. These qualities wither with age. The masculine ideal, on the other hand, is strongly associated with energy, force and accomplishment, which are enhanced by age. Sontag argues that society’s norms and standards are designed to keep women