Rejecting and Resisting Ageism: Female Perspectives of Ageing with Punk

Perceptions of punk as a youth culture only and descriptions of its participants as being ‘post youth’ or attempting to ‘hold onto’ youth have been challenged, yet ageist stereotypes persist, in punk cultures as in all areas of life. We all age, and if we are lucky enough to, older age is our destination. It is not ageing that is problematic, but cultural expectations that influence the way that older people act, look and spend their time. This chapter takes the theoretical framework of cultural gerontology to explore the experiences of older women who identify with punk across the life course. Ageism and expectations of age are powerful, but there are parallel influences, and, here, the legacies and influences of punk culture are used as a tool for the examination of age. If punk is characterised by an anti-authority attitude and a resistance to conformity, surely women who identified with punk may be better equipped to resist conforming to wider cultural expectations of ageing? This chapter draws on the author’s feminist, qualitative research study, exploring the experiences of women aged 50 to 65 who identified, and continue to identify, with punk.