Aesthetic and social expectations: the positioning of the elderly woman on aesthetic resources
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23925/2176-901X.2015v18i4p133-149Keywords:
Beauty. Esthetics, Body, Woman, Old age.Abstract
The aging process is a natural condition to life, and it is marked by changes that run in the body as a result from the physiology of aging; these changes may also derive from a construction ruled by social standards. The study aimed to learn the positioning of the elderly woman on the use of esthetic resources in response to social expectations. The methodology used was the descriptive exploratory qualitative approach with a group of 10 sixty-year-old women. The focal method was chosen for data collection and analysis. The results show that the concern with the aged body image makes 60-year-old women to search for improvement of the physique and its consequent acceptance in invasive and cosmetic esthetic procedures. Other women turn to the foundings of religion to live with the aspects and changes resulting from aging. It is recommended to health professionals to be aware of ulterior motives, which guide people in the search for esthetic resources, while some women wish only to delay the signs of aging, others suffer emotionally and psychically for not meeting social expectations.