SHORT STORY

Women's experiences of ageing are frequently overlooked and undervalued in Western society. Within her collections of short stories, contemporary Scottish author, Jackie Kay, delves into the challenges that middle-aged and older women encounter as they navigate the aging process in today’s society. This research unveils the valuable insights Jackie Kay's narratives offer, by exploring the significant intersections of gender and aging with other forms of social discrimination that appear in her work. By examining some of the author's most highly symbolic narratives, this study aims to highlight the need for a greater understanding of the multifaceted voices and experiences of aging women.

Researcher: Verónica Vizcaíno

The process of ageing into old age, although frequently reduced into a narrow narrative of illness and decline, is fluid, complex, personal and irremediably influenced by culture (Gullette, 2004). In a similar way, the notion of masculinity, especially hegemonic masculinity, is materialized, shaped and enhanced through the culturally constructed model of patriarchy. Establishing hegemonic masculinity as the ultimate goal for males, patriarchy ensures men’s superiority and power in society in a similar way as ageist ideology privileges youth. The same forces that bestow power to hegemonic masculinity and ageist ideology, however, are the ones that complicate the opportunity of building egalitarian and sustainable relationships with others.

This line of research aims at exploring the tensions between age, masculinity and intergenerational relationships through contemporary short stories, which at the same time reflect the realities and struggles of our Western society. While other literary genres have been meticulously described and examined, the short story genre as a whole seems to resist universal definition (Shaw, 2014). This lack of hermetic definition is not regarded as a weakness but rather as a strength and a source for limitless opportunities. The authors that will be explored are: John Updike, Julian Barnes, Hanif Kureishi and George Saunders. The variety of authors will allow an overview study of the contemporary Western representations of male ageing in this genre.

Researcher: Àngels Llurda Marí