Starzejące się ciało w społeczeństwie somatycznym
Aging body in the somatic society

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this article is to discuss and critically analyze selected theories, existing within the fields of medical sociology and sociology of the body, concerning body image during the process of aging. The author first analyzed theories concerning social images of the aging body, pointing out that the emergence of a consumer society, stigmatization and stereotyping serve as salient determinants of this image. Second, the article analyzed how subjective body image is developed among older people, describing how body aging influences the process of identity construction and perception of one’s own body among people of old age. The analysis has shown that the problem of social and subjective body image among the elderly has been relatively widely explored in the domain of sociology of the body and sociology of medicine. However, existing analyses are more often than not one-sided and narrow. Therefore, it is necessary to create a multidimensional theory of body perception among older people, taking under consideration not only social determinants of body image among people of old age, but also subjective interpretations ascribed to the body.

• Details
• Contents