title: Age and embodied masculinities: midlife gay and heterosexual men talk about their bodies.
abstract: This article integrates critical gerontology and masculinities theories to examine how midlife gay and heterosexual men experience their bodies in relation to cultural discourses of aging. Analyses of in-depth interviews with 15 gay and 15 heterosexual men ages 40-60 reveal that while both groups of men describe their bodies as deteriorating or declining in terms of functionality and are often distressed by these changes, midlife gay men also articulate a concern with a perceived decline in bodily appearance. Both gay and heterosexual midlife men frame their bodies as fundamentally different from women's, possibly in an attempt to protect a masculine identity in response to the threat that aging bodies pose to that identity. We argue that midlife men's embodied experiences are shaped by a discourse of midlife decline as well as inequalities between gay and heterosexual men. We also discuss the implications of embodiment for midlife men's well-being.
authors.affiliation: University of Texas at Austin, 305 E. 23rd Street, Austin, TX 78712, USA. AmyLodge@utexas.edu
authors.forename: Amy C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Lodge
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Umberson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D020010:Heterosexuality; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D057228:Masculinity; D008875:Middle Aged; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D019529:Sexuality / Q000523:psychology
keywords: Aging; Bodies; Gender; Masculinities; Midlife; Sexual orientation; Sexuality