Unruly pleasures. Women, aging and the work of intimacy

Begin - Einde 
2021 - 2026 (lopend)
Type 
Vakgroep(en) 
Vakgroep Talen en Culturen
Onderzoeksgebied 
Tijdsperiode 
Land/Regio 
Onderzoeksmethode 
Trefwoorden 
Anthropology
Ageing Studies
Sexuality

Tabgroup

Abstract

This project explores how older women engage with intimacy, sensuality, and pleasure within professionally facilitated settings. It investigates what these practices offer women as they age and examines their potential to challenge prevailing norms surrounding ageing femininity. Drawing on in-depth interviews and ethnographic fieldwork conducted in nursing homes, as well as intimacy-focused workshops and festivals in Belgium, the research centers older women’s lived experiences. The study reveals the transformative possibilities of facilitated intimacy in later life, encouraging a reconsideration of age, gender, and care that moves beyond binary notions of decline or success. Instead, it foregrounds themes of pleasure, playfulness, and relationality. Ultimately, this work aims to reimagine women’s intimacy in later life by embracing a diverse range of experiences, resisting prescriptive definitions of what constitutes a ‘good life.’

Onderzoekers

Promotor(en)

Doctoraatsstudent(en)

Externe medewerkers

Rahil Roodsaz

Anthropology Department - Amsterdam University