"Disempowering stereotypes plague public perceptions of older women's bodies, particularly within Western contemporary societies."

J Women Aging. 2014;26(1):39-65. doi: 10.1080/08952841.2014.854574.

Sequins, Sass, and Sisterhood: An Exploration of Older Women's Belly Dancing.

Moe AM.

Author information

• a Department of Sociology , Western Michigan University , Kalamazoo , MI.

Abstract

Disempowering stereotypes plague public perceptions of older women's bodies, particularly within Western contemporary societies. Consequently, as women age, their bodies often become sources of shame, discomfort, and ridicule. Belly dance, as a form of recreative leisure, provides a unique and somewhat unexpected space for women to subvert such perceptions. Based on qualitative interviews with older American women who belly dance, this article examines the ways in which this form of recreation provides participants a means of (re)gaining mobility, (re)claiming social space, (re)building social support, and (re)defining what it means to be sensual later in life.