Productive Aging: A Feminist Critique

This essay offers a feminist perspective on the call for a "productive aging" society, and says that the movement provides an answer before we have systematically asked questions about the meaning of old age. An emphasis on productivity, among other things, can devalue relational activities, often inherent in women's roles, and certain older people—older women in particular. The author proposes a number of measures for the short term, so that society can be responsible to older women who need and want jobs, as well as ideas for more far-reaching change.