Silver Sisters: A Feminist Study of Strength, Solidarity, and Self

Abstract

The literature on aging has not emphasized the way in which aging women choose to present themselves physically. Recently, women have begun utilizing social media to share and gain support for their personal experiences of defying societal norms that focus on youthful appearance and, choosing hair as a symbol, making a statement about authenticity and beauty in the aging process. Utilizing the qualitative methodology of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), this dissertation illuminates the lived experience of women who have chosen to embrace silver hair in the aging process. Participants included women between the ages of 46 and 65 years old who actively participate in social media sites intended to support women in their transition from colored hair to their natural shade of silver. Participants referenced the appearance stigma they felt with their decision to maintain their natural hair color and reported that despite the issues and pressures they faced with their decision not to color their natural hair, they were able to overcome the pressures to conform to the judgment of others, to ageism, and to sexism. The results from this study articulate the deeply meaningful experience of aging for women and the way in which a symbol such as hair, when explored beyond the face value of physical appearance, may offer a rich sociopolitical framework for authenticity, activism, and mutual support.