Post-Punk/Garage Rock Revival in the 21st Century

(Submitted on November 14, 2017)

The story of the music that I have most enjoyed thus far in the 21^st century begins in the suburban garages of the 1960s where rebellious teens, inspired by their musical idols, were thrashing around on guitars and drums, hoping, in part, to drive their parents crazy. In the early days of the “garage rock” or “garage punk” movement, these young musicians looked to R&B music for their sound, but the British Invasion caused a shift in style as countless bands formed attempting to emulate the music (and success) of bands such as the Beatles. The garage phenomenon was largely unlabeled at the time, but it took place worldwide and produced very strong local and regional music scenes.

These were the days of smaller, independent record labels and local radio stations, both of which allowed many young bands to record and get airplay at the local level. While this is where the career trajectory ended for most, some bands, such as the Sonics of Tacoma, Washington, broke through and achieved national and international success. Of course, not all of the bands which would come to collectively be described as garage bands were created by suburban teens. Urban groups, often including seasoned professional musicians, were also drawn to the sparse, raw stylings of the genre that combined aggressive, sometimes shouted vocals with basic chords played on guitars, keyboards (often organs) and drums. The music had a primal quality, which was emphasized through production techniques that made even studio recordings sound like a garage practice session. Boom, the second studio album of the Sonics, is a notable example of this stripped-down rock. In New York, garage punk had a different, more avant-garde edge to it with lyrics from bands such as the Fugs and the Velvet Underground that were at times more philosophical, political and poetic.  The Velvet Underground, led by Lou Reed, was not particularly successful from a commercial standpoint, but is widely recognized as being hugely influential across a number of subsequent musical genres including punk, new wave and alternative rock. Certainly, they are the band most commonly referenced by the artists whose work I will discuss below.

By the end of the 60s the first wave of garage rock ultimately fell victim to changing tastes, the growing popularity of more sophisticated production values and a more complex musical sound. However, in the years to come, the demand by true lovers of rock for fast-paced, adrenaline-producing, raw, energetic music never actually died, and by the mid-70s a movement (later referred to as “proto-punk”) was taking shape led by bands such as the Velvet Underground, MC5 and the Stooges, led by Iggy Pop. Their work inspired the punk music genre, which became a fully blown response to the “over-produced” music that now dominated radio. Punk music and the subculture that emerged alongside it (most famously in Great Britain) offered an outlet for rebellious youth who wanted to express their anti-establishment views. In New York, bands such as the Ramones and the Cramps, and in London groups including the Clash and the Sex Pistols, “paid open homage to 60s garage rock” (Heller) while, at the same time, creating a very unique movement.

The 80s and 90s continued to produce garage rock and garage punk bands, proving that there was a continued niche for a more “lo-fi” style of music. Bands formed in the 80s, including Chesterfield Kings, Plasticland and the Fuzztones, were the first of the garage rock “revivalists” and they brought a “somewhat less raw approach” adding “a neater, at times janglier set of sounds to the garage-rock toolbox.” (Heller) Together with the Cynics, from Pittsburgh, these bands resurrected a more “subversively psychedelic image” (Heller) that harkened back to the 60s. The 90s brought bands including The Gories, The Mummies, The Devil Dogs and New Bomb Turks that were well known to garage rock enthusiasts, but real commercial success for the revival genres ebbed. Towards the end of the 80s, in cities like New York, excitement was building for new forms of music, most importantly hip hop, which was innovative and on its way to becoming the best-selling music genre of the 90s. The center of the alternative rock scene shifted to the west coast, to cities like Seattle and Los Angeles, where grunge bands such as Nirvana and funk metal bands such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers had great success and paved the way for the nu-metal genre (think Korn, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park) of the late 90s. (Goodman)

All of which brings us to the 21^st century when, as Jason Heller wrote, “no one could have predicted how hard the [garage rock] genre would come roaring back.” Even more unlikely, New York was at the forefront of this revival which also came to be known as “post-punk revival.” In her book titled Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001- 2011, Lizzy Goodman describes the pull of New York at the very end of the 90s when young musicians, and their followers, again felt drawn to the innate tension of the city. She describes young bands such as the Strokes and Interpol as not “real bands” but “coconspirators, comrades in the pursuit of ‘youth and abandon.’” She goes on to write:

“We were all – every kid in the crowd and every person on stage – chasing the same thing: a feeling of rebellion, of possibility, of promise of chaos. We had to find it so we could figure out how to be ourselves, and we couldn’t locate it without each other. We were chasing something…that was synthesized for our generation by Nick [Valensi]’s guitar when he let it scream for a while before the Strokes crash-landed into the opening of ‘New York City Cops’ and by Karen O [of the Yeah,Yeah, Yeahs]’s primal yowl on ‘Our Time’ and James Murphy [of LCD Soundsystem]’s comic despair on ‘Losing My Edge.’ We were all chasing New York City.”

In a short space of time a group of New York bands, led by the Strokes and Interpol, went from virtual obscurity to being considered at the forefront of a movement. They were not alone though and Detroit also produced a significant number of artists, most notably the White Stripes, the Von Bondies and the Detroit Cobras, who helped open the floodgates for the first wave of the garage rock/garage punk/post-punk revival stars.  International acts including the Hives from Sweden and the Vines from Australia also broke through and, when the dust settled, these two bands, together with the Strokes and the White Stripes, were generally seen as the “big four” who brought garage revival a level of global recognition that had not been enjoyed by garage rock bands of the past. (Morris) Here, then, are profiles of these four influential “first wave” bands:

The Strokes

Ian Youngs, writing some short takes for the BBC in 2002, said of the Strokes – who are arguably the most famous, but the least true to genre of the four bands – that they were “the first to discover that the leather jackets and scratchy riffs of the 70s New York scene are the perfect antidotes to nu-metal and melancholic mainstream rock.” The Strokes formed in the late 90s, with vocalist Julian Casablancas, lead guitarist Nick Valensi, rhythm guitarist Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti, all of whom have been members since the band’s inception.  With the exception of Hammond, they met at school on the Upper West Side of New York, where Casablancas, their songwriter, became familiar with the music of the Velvet Underground and they were all exposed to, and inspired by, artists such as the Doors, Talking Heads and the Ramones as well as an Ohio band called Guided by Voices. (Phares, “The Strokes”) The band started performing at local parties and then hit the Manhattan club scene but, interestingly, their first commercial success came in the UK. The release of their first EP, The Modern Age, on Britain’s independent Rough Trade Records in early 2001 created a bidding war among record labels; the band would soon be signed by RCA. Their debut studio album, Is This It, was released in July 2001 to nearly universal critical acclaim. They toured that summer in the UK and Europe and, from the get-go, received effusive praise from the music journalists who covered them. The hype appears to have been enormous. Eric Ducker wrote their first cover story for The Fader magazine in London that summer. About their concert, Ducker wrote, “If you’ve ever seen a good rock show, I’ll spare you the details, but man, the Strokes are fun. You should see them, a mix of controlled mayhem and boogie-oogie-woogie.” That doesn’t sound over the top, but he also noted that “Following the fuzzy logic of phenom-based journalism, there are already more articles about the Strokes that cover them being hyped than there are ones that hype them…[but that] without hearing any music, The Fader knew months ago we were going to feature the Strokes the second photographer Leslie Lyons showed us the publicity photo she took of them.” An interview by James Oldham in the same year in the UK weekly NME magazine, which put them on the cover twice in the lead up to the release of their first album, said “It’s certainly true that magazines have lost their minds for the Strokes. Not just NME, but style mags, fashion mags, guitar mags, everyone.” Musically, the band were greeted as the “saviors of edgy guitar rock” and an article by Jay McInerney in New York magazine from 2006 summed up my attitude to their work well saying that:

“Listening to the Strokes was like listening to an underground, highly selective classic-rock station playing tunes with which you knew you were familiar but that you couldn’t quite identify. The Strokes’ sound seemed both brilliantly distinctive and hugely derivative. You couldn’t necessarily point to any one riff or vocal phrase and say, that’s the Velvet Underground, or Blondie, or the Cars, or Nirvana, or even Tom Petty.”

Valensi, quoted in that same article, attributed the success of the Strokes’ first album to the fact that it was “kind of New Wave, kind of retro” and that “no one was doing that music then – the Ramones, Talking Heads, Blondie, the Cars. That music never went out of style, but no one was playing it. We were filling some kind of void in music.”  This is a recurring theme in interviews with the top bands of the post-punk revival era – that there is always a place for the adrenaline-fueled, highly energetic rock sounds that those bands epitomize. It should also be noted that the music produced by these bands, while holding enormous appeal for garage rock enthusiasts, was quite individual in style leading some to take issue with how the bands were labelled. Jason Heller gave voice to this, writing of the Strokes that they “are routinely lumped in with the White Stripes, but they shouldn’t be. Calling the Strokes a garage rock band is like calling Duran Duran a punk band. Nothing against either the Strokes or Duran Duran, but still.”

Is This It was named the best album of that year by Billboard, CMJ, Entertainment Weekly, NME, Playlouder, and Time and it is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential albums of the 21^st century. The band has gone on to release four more studio albums but writers Philip Cosores and Collin Brennan possibly summed up their situation when they offered an opinion on why they have never been nominated for a Grammy Award. They remarked that “if the Strokes were ever going to be nominated, it should have happened with their legendary debut record, which was likely just a little too cool for Grammy voters at the time. Their work since has consistently reached a smaller audience and dipped in quality, keeping them on the outside looking in.”

The White Stripes

The White Stripes formed in the late 90s with members Jack White (guitar/piano/vocals) and Meg White (drums/vocals), a musical style that blended garage rock, punk, and blues, and a distinctive red-and-white wardrobe. They released a total of six studio albums between 1999 and 2007, receiving widespread critical acclaim in the process, before a lengthy hiatus turned into the split of the duo (who claimed to be siblings but in reality were actually married for a time early in their careers) in 2011. Their third album White Blood Cells (2001) established them as stars, while Elephant (2003), Get Behind Me Satan (2005), and Icky Thump (2007) each won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album. (Leahey, “The White Stripes”) Their greatest mainstream success was the single “Seven Nation Army,” known for one of the most recognizable guitar riffs of the 21^st century as well as for achieving significant popularity as a “sports anthem.” Charles Klosterman of Spin magazine interviewed Jack and Meg White in October 2002 and took a look at what made the White Stripes “America’s most frothed-over rock group” of the time. He concluded that their mixture of “junk punk and tangled roots music” did what great rock bands are supposed to do – they “reinvented the blues with contemporary instincts.” In Klosterman’s words, “Everything is raw and unrehearsed and imperfect. And that’s why it’s so fucking good… Audiences hear something in their music that’s so fundamental, it almost feels alien.” The interview quoted Jack, who insisted that “We have to go back…the last twenty years have been filled with digital, technological crap that’s taken the soul out of music.” “The point,” Meg added, “is being a live band.” The simple, direct catharsis of garage rock lay at the heart of the earlier work of the White Stripes and, while they departed somewhat from it in Get Behind Me Satan, they returned to their garage, punk, and blues roots for Icky Thump.

The Hives

The Hives formed as teenagers in Fagersta, Sweden and they are still performing today. (Phares, “The Hives”) Original members Per and Niklas Almqvist, Mikael Karlsson, Christian Grahn and Mattias Bernvall got together with one thing in common – they neither understood nor cared for the grunge phenomenon and wanted to rebel against it. Mark Spitz interviewed them for Spin magazine in 2004, in an article titled “Sharp Dressed Manskap,” and they discussed the importance of their visual look, which was “a reaction to the moth-eaten-flannel and dirty-denim grunge movement.” Musically, Spitz noted that “they were a hardcore band that dressed like a new-wave band and secretly loved power pop.” In a true throwback to the early days of garage rock, they honed their skills in “Hive Manor” A.K.A. the Bernvall family basement. Their earliest performances were at local dances and clubs where they would play original music and “accelerated 60s covers.” They released their debut studio album Barely Legal in Sweden in 1997, but first achieved recognition with 2000’s Veni Vidi Vicious and singles “Hate to Say I Told You So” and “Main Offender,” all of which were released in the UK and subsequently in the US by recording executives looking to take advantage of the wave which “spirited and poppy” garage punk was riding. The hype surrounding the Hives was huge and, in an effort to make sure it was justified, the band applied enormous discipline to developing a persona and a stage act that would electrify audiences. They became known for dressing exclusively in black and white, and their energetic live performances have always earned them accolades from reviewers. They have released a total of five studio albums, the most recent, Lex Hives, in 2012. In fact, it is a review of this album, in NME magazine in 2012, that provides a most apt description of the music of the Hives. The reviewer notes that the band is fashion and fad-resistant and that “they believe in the redemptive power of loud, dumb, fun, witty, sarcastic, life-affirming scream-along, strut ‘n’ roll and not a lot else.” (“The Hives – Lex Hives”) The reviewer goes on to assume that the Hives will continue making great records like Lex Hives “until they drop dead,” but on this he may be wrong, as right now they have no albums in the works, being unable to agree on their future musical direction.

The Vines

The Vines formed in Sydney, Australia in 1994 and were composed of Craig Nicholls (lead guitar/vocals), Patrick Matthews (bass/backing vocals) and David Oliffe (drums).  The band still exists today although only Nicholls remains from the original lineup. AllMusic described them as having found inspiration “particularly in the grungy craft of Nirvana and the melodic, psychedelic appeal of vintage British pop.” (Leahy, “The Vines”) The release of their debut single, “Factory,” in November 2001 spurred their popularity in Europe and their debut studio album, 2002’s Highly Evolved, went platinum in Australia and gold in the US and UK. The British press immediately touted them as the best band since Nirvana and in September 2002 they appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, accompanied by the headline “Rock Is Back: Meet the Vines.” In the Rolling Stone article, writer Rob Sheffield grouped the band with the Strokes, the White Stripes and the Hives, the four being acclaimed “as leaders of a new modern-rock sound that blows away the bloated Kornclone clichés of the past few years.” Sheffield then makes a point with which I agree entirely, stating:

“In truth, none of these bands really has much in common with one another, but they all get lumped together because they show how rock fans across the world are starved for some new excitement and adrenaline, punk-rock style.”

The Vines’ high-energy style has always come, in part, from the frenetic and often controversial behavior of Craig Nicholls. Nicholls has always been ambitious for the band and his belief in the “mind-altering, life-affirming power of music” (Sheffield) has been behind that drive. Inspired by the music of Nirvana, Beck and Pavement, he was happy to be grouped with bands like the Strokes and the White Stripes, saying “I don’t think it’s a movement. It’s just real rock music.” (Sheffield) The Vines have both benefitted and suffered from the unpredictability of Nicholls on stage and in the studio but, in general, reviewers have not felt that their material post-Highly Evolved has ever matched its standard. NME magazine, reviewing 2008’s Melodia, went as far as to apologize profusely for its earlier proclamations regarding Nicholls as the “savior” of rock ‘n’ roll.  (“The Vines – Melodia”)

The first thread that runs through the stories of the four bands above is that they were all playing music which spoke to a generation of music lovers who were frustrated with the rock music of the 80s and 90s and who yearned for live, raw, energized, stripped-down rock. The second thread is the degree to which all of these bands were hyped by the music industry and music journalists, all of them at some point being referred to as the “saviors” of rock and the leaders of the “New Rock Revolution,” a term coined by NME. However, concerns were being raised almost immediately that their music sales were not in line with the hype and, while successful, the bands were never quite able to take on the superstar status that had been predicted for them. Mark Spitz wrote an article for Spin magazine in 2010 titled “The New Rock Revolution Fizzles” saying that the “back-to-basics, turn-of-the-millennium bands went from…blazing to smoldering in half the time.” Spitz, who had been a “true believer in 2001,” admitted that he was “caught up in the excitement of rock feeling sexy again,” but by 2005 he knew that the movement had not exploded, but rather had “popped” like a “roman candle.”  He questioned why bands such as the Strokes never realized their dreams on a mass level, and suggested that (in the words of Malcolm Gladwell) perhaps “The act of discovering what’s cool is what causes cool to move on.”

One important aspect of the music of these “first wave” garage revivalists was the influence that it had on nascent bands and on new bands forming. Simon Reynolds, in The Guardian, referred to the bands that followed as an “avalanche” and noted that he gradually came to acknowledge the music of “second wave” bands such as Franz Ferdinand and Arctic Monkeys as “REALLY good,” adding that he was swayed by their “combination of rhythmic force and big, bold vocal presence.” The “avalanche” included many bands from the UK, which makes sense as it was the epicenter of post-punk revival hype, and bands such as Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, and the Fratellis all released albums which had been influenced by garage and post-punk revival music. In the US, the existing band Yeah Yeah Yeahs signed a major contract, and the Killers released their debut album in 2004. In Australia, Jet released their debut album in 2003 and it too achieved success with a garage rock sound. Following are profiles of three of these “second wave” bands whose music I have enjoyed over the years.

Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys formed in Sheffield, England, where they began recording demos shortly after they started performing; this collection of songs was burned on to CDs which were given away for free at gigs. Their popularity began to grow over 2004 and 2005, largely through sharing of their music on fansites and word of mouth, as opposed to marketing or advertising. They signed with independent label Domino in 2005. Their first two singles went straight to #1 on the UK charts, and they released their debut album in early 2006. That album, titled Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, is still the fastest-selling debut album in the history of the UK charts. (Leahy, “Arctic Monkeys”) Writing in a 2006 article on the band for The Guardian, Alex Kumi stated that “their rough and energetic album, which features tales of working-class life, alcopops and prostitution, has drawn comparisons with The Clash and Oasis,” but it is generally recognized that the Strokes’ Is This It was the “chief catalyzing influence” on the group’s early work. Frontman Alex Turner told NME in 2011, “I remember I used to play (Is This It) in (high school) all the time, when our band was first starting…I remember consciously trying not to sound like the Strokes, deliberately taking bits out of songs that sounded too much like them, but I still loved that album…As much as they probably hate hearing this as well, they were the band that encouraged me to rip the knees of my jeans and write on them in marker pen.” (“Alex Turner”) All five Arctic Monkeys studio albums reached #1 on the UK charts, the most recent of which was released in 2013. After a several-year hiatus, their next album is on track to be released in 2018.

Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand formed in Glasgow, Scotland, and signed with Domino in 2003. They were inspired by the post-punk movement and bands like Talking Heads and Gang of Four and their music has a catchy feel designed for dancing. Their frontman, Alex Kapranos, told Alexis Petridis in an interview for GQ that they were reacting to some elitist trends they saw in alternative music and added that “it seemed like the most rebellious thing we could do was to play a really catchy song.” According to AllMusic, the release of their first EP in the fall of that year led some to dub them the “Scottish Interpol.” The band released their eponymous debut album in 2004 to much critical acclaim. They have released four studio albums in total, with a fifth due to be released in 2018. (Phares, “Franz Ferdinand”) The band has enjoyed recognition at the Brit Awards and NME Awards in the UK, along with several Grammy nominations stateside. They are best known for the single “Take Me Out,” released in early 2004. It is recognized as their “signature song” as well as one of the top “indie anthems” of the 21st century, and also achieved attention for its music video which became an MTV staple.

The Killers

The Killers, one of the most successful rock bands of the 21st century, formed in Las Vegas in 2002, and started out by playing clubs in their hometown. A local reviewer, Mike Prevatt, had the opportunity to listen to a demo they made and commented that they were different from other local bands marrying “pop styles of British music with the lo-fi fuzz of modern indie rock.” Of “Mr. Brightside,” which subsequently became an international hit, Prevatt wrote, “it’s energetic, New Wave, garage, a feel-good Strokes-esque anthem.” The Killers caught the attention of a UK representative for Warner Bros., who gave their demo to London independent label Lizard King. The band generated buzz in the UK and, by fall 2003, in the US as well. They signed a deal with Island Records and released their hugely successful debut album Hot Fuss in 2004, “a mix of 80s-styled synth pop and fashionista charm” according to AllMusic. It featured worldwide hits “Mr. Brightside,” “Somebody Told Me,” “All These Things That I’ve Done,” and “Smile Like You Mean It.” The Killers have now released a total of five studio albums, the most recent of which, Wonderful Wonderful, is currently topping the charts. It is important to note that their musical repertoire has expanded over the years to incorporate genres as varied as Bruce Springsteen-esque Americana/heartland rock and, as AllMusic described it, “sleek, oddball dance-rock.”

Now here we are in 2017 and, while most of the bands that I’ve discussed are still active, playing music festivals and occasionally producing albums, I consider that it is fair to say that the post-punk/garage revival genre had well and truly faded by 2010. Even the “second wave” artists, who had so vigorously emulated bands such as the Strokes in their early recordings, began fairly quickly to infuse their music with a broader range of musical influences including electronic and new wave, among others.  And to date there has been no “third wave” achieving commercial success. So, was the early popularity of the post-punk revival bands “the last gasp of rock and roll” as some have suggested?  I choose to believe not. Crowds swarm concerts and festivals in 2017 to watch performances that consist of nothing but a DJ on a stage who mixes tracks or plays what may be pre-recorded sets, designed to coordinate with pyrotechnic displays. There must be many music lovers who, like me, do not understand the appeal of this art form and who are happier in local venues watching live performances and waiting for the next big breakthrough of raw “garage” sounds. There will always be rising generations of young musicians who want to rebel against the mainstream, and rock, including basic garage rock, will again have its day.

Works Cited

“Alex Turner – Why I Love the Strokes’ ‘Is This It.’” NME Blog, NME, 28 Jul. 2011 http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/alex-turner-why-i-love-the-strokes-is-this-it-7945  Accessed 2 Nov. 2017

Consores, Philip and Collin Brennan. “The 30 Worst Grammy Snubs of Active Artists.” Consequence of Sound, 8 Feb. 2017, consequenceofsound.net/2017/02/30-active-artists-to-never-win-grammys/   Accessed 1 Nov. 2017

Ducker, Eric. “This 2001 Story Of The Strokes’ Rise To Fame Is A Rock & Roll Time Capsule.” The Fader, No. 9, Fall 2001, http://www.thefader.com/2015/09/15/the-strokes-cover-story-issue-9  Accessed 30 Oct. 2017

Goodman, Lizzy. Meet Me In The Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001- 2011.  Dey Street Books, 2017. Kindle edition

Heller, Jason.  “Where to Start with the Primal Sound of Garage Rock.” 30 March 2015, The A.V. Club, http://www.music.avclub.com/where-to-start-with-the-primal-sound-of-garage-rock-1798278168   Accessed 28 Oct. 2017

Klosterman, Chuck. “Back to the Garage.” Spin, Oct. 2002, pp. 64-68. books.google.com/books?id=EiUGaclNKKQC&pg=PA7&source=gbs_toc&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=false   Accessed 1 Nov. 2017

Kumi, Alex. “Arctic Monkeys Make UK Chart History.” The Guardian, 30 Jan. 2006,  www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/jan/30/arts.artsnews  Accessed 2 Nov. 2017

Leahey, Andrew. “Arctic Monkeys – Artist Biography.” Allmusic.com, http://www.allmusic.com/artist/arctic-monkeys-mn0000325357/biography   Accessed 26 Oct. 2017

Leahey, Andrew. “The Killers – Artist Biography.” Allmusic.com, http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-killers-mn0000670226/biography   Accessed 26 Oct. 2017

Leahey, Andrew. “The Vines – Artist Biography.” Allmusic.com, http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-vines-mn0000582463/biography   Accessed 26 Oct. 2017

Leahey, Andrew. “The White Stripes – Artist Biography” Allmusic.com,   www.allmusic.com/artist/the-white-stripes-mn0000921710/biography   Accessed 28 Oct. 2017

McInerney, Jay. “Group Therapy” New York Magazine, 16 Jan. 2006, nymag.com/nymetro/news/culture/features/15495/    Accessed 29 Oct. 2017

Morris, Chris. “Are New Rockers Earning the Buzz?” Billboard, 21 Dec. 2002, pp. 1 & 67.  books.google.com/books?id=YQ0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA4&source=gbs_toc&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=false   Accessed 29 Oct. 2017

Oldham, James. “The Strokes: Why New York’s Finest Will Change Your Life – Forever.” NME, June 2001, transcribed at She’s Fixing Her Hair: The Strokes Fansite, http://www.shesfixingherhair.co.uk/blog/interviews/interviews-nme-may-2001  Accessed 28 Oct. 2017

Petridis, Alexis. “Franz Ferdinand.” GQ, 2004, republished 29 Aug. 2013, http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/franz-ferdinand-interview-new-album  Accessed 4 Nov. 2017

Phares, Heather. “Franz Ferdinand – Artist Biography.” Allmusic.com, http://www.allmusic.com/artist/franz-ferdinand-mn0000172582/biography  Accessed 26 Oct. 2017

Phares, Heather. “The Strokes – Artist Biography.” Allmusic.com, http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-strokes-mn0000568137/biography   Accessed 26 Oct. 2017

Phares, Heather. “The Hives – Artist Biography.” Allmusic.com,  www.allmusic.com/artist/the-hives-mn0000074520/biography   Accessed 26 Oct. 2017

Prevatt, Mike. “The Killers” Las Vegas City Life, archived from the original 29 Dec. 2002  web.archive.org/web/20021229002808/http://www.lvlocalmusicscene.com/band_detail.cfm?BandName=The+Killers&Genre=Alternative  Accessed 4 Nov. 2017

Reynolds, Simon. “Notes On the Noughties: Clearing Up the Indie Landfill.” The Guardian, 4 Jan. 2010, http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2010/jan/04/clearing-up-indie-landfill   Accessed 1 Nov. 2017

Sheffield, Rob. “Interview: The Vines.” Rolling Stone, 19 Sept. 2002,   http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/the-vines-20020919   Accessed 1 Nov. 2017

Spitz, Marc. “Sharp Dressed Manskap.” Spin, Aug, 2004, pp. 62-68. books.google.com/books?id=dVuFuZEeUX0C&pg=PA9&source=gbs_toc&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=false   Accessed 3 Nov. 2017

Spitz, The New Rock Revolution Fizzles.” Spin, May, 2010, p. 95. books.google.com/books?id=yqmlNOuYQdEC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false, i  Accessed 4 Nov. 2017

“The Hives – Lex Hives.” NME, 1 Jun. 2012,  www.nme.com/reviews/album/reviews-the-hives-2-13267   Accessed 3 Nov. 2017

“The Vines – Melodia.” NME, 8 Aug. 2008,  http://www.nme.com/reviews/album/reviews-the-vines-9836   Accessed 1. Nov 2017

Youngs, Ian . “Entertainment | New bands race for rock stardom.” BBC News, BBC, 22 Oct. 2002,  news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2346791.stm   Accessed 29 Oct. 2017

 

 

 

 

 

Some Thoughts on Ageism and How Feminists Can (and Should) Do More to Oppose It

 

“Women over 50 have been described by novelist Hilary Mantel as ‘the invisible generation’. H. G. Wells’s invisible man could only make himself visible by putting on clothes, disguising himself as a ‘normal’ person. Today’s invisible women can only make themselves visible by ‘disguising’ themselves as younger women, through their clothes, their hair color, their make-up, or through cosmetic surgery.” – Jeannette King

In thinking about the topic of ageism, I initially made the same mistake as I believe is made by many others – or, more correctly, many young others: I connected it simply with the references I hear made to it in the media. Only yesterday, for example, there were news reports of a television actress, Jamie Denbo, who was rejected for a part because she was considered, at the age of 43, to be too old to play the wife of a 57-year-old. (Miller) Stories of women being rejected for roles due to ageism abound in Hollywood, as do accounts of women being pushed out of on-air news roles.  The discrimination that these women face is both ageist and sexist and is not to be trivialized.

Per The New York Times: “Madonna took pride in her ability to persevere in an industry that she said did not look kindly on older women singers. She said that in the world of music, ‘to age is a sin. You will be criticized, you will be vilified, and you will definitely not be played on the radio.’ In recent years, she has become something of a warrior against age discrimination, publicly rebelling, with few subtleties, against the notion that age should slow her down.”

However, through my reading on the topic, I have learned that the issue of ageism runs deep throughout our society, that it has many facets and that, importantly, it has been ignored or given inadequate attention by feminist inquiry for too long.  I call on young feminists not to let this stand. In a book titled Age Matters: Realigning Feminist Thinking, Toni Calasanti and Kathleen Slevin posit that feminism’s failure to “study old people on their own terms” and to “theorize age relations” has furthered “the oppression that old people face, especially those marginalized at the intersections of multiple hierarchies.” (Loc. 111) In this paper, I intend to look at some of the issues raised by gerontologists, sociologists and feminist scholars that I found most informative and to spotlight some of the women who have made the case, through words and actions, for a more inclusive feminist agenda.

Ageism: Why We Should Care

Feminist theory on inequality has covered much territory over the years, however has focused with greatest intensity on the categories of race, class and gender. Age, according to Neal King, while recognized as being a form of inequality, has “remained marginal in feminist scholarship, such that many neglect even to mention it on their lists of interlocked oppressions.” (Loc. 938). Yet discrimination based on age is prevalent. It occurs because our society values youth, privileging the young at the expense of the old, and this inequality clearly intersects with that based on race, class, gender and sexuality. Glenda Laws writes that in old age, a person will lose authority and status and possibly income. They are marginalized and are vulnerable to violence, exploitation and cultural imperialism. (Laws) Calasanti, Slevin, and King note that old people are subject to corporate policies that push them from the workforce and render them dependent on others, and/or on the state. They are frequently patronized, or denied their autonomy by those with whom they have contact, may be exploited for their unpaid labor (often by their families), and their positive contributions are undermined by a form of cultural imperialism which emphasizes youth and vitality. (Calasanti 2006, 18)

What truly sets ageism apart from other categories of oppression is that it is not a constant. As Molly Andrews has written, it is “unique in that those who practice it will one day join the group they presently discriminate against, if longevity is granted them.” (303) This observation raises the question of why wouldn’t fighting ageism be in the best interests of everyone, as one day they too will be vulnerable to it? The answer, Andrews believes, is that people see old people as totally distinct from themselves and not as a projection of their future selves. (303)

 Why Should Feminists (In Particular) Care?

Andrews’ analysis is true of both men and women. However, the bottom line is that ageism affects women more than men, and for this reason, feminists have an even greater responsibility to incorporate it as a field of enquiry. The contribution of Susan Sontag in The Double Standard of Ageing was to differentiate between the experiences of men and women as they age and to highlight the “poisonous nexus of sexism and ageism that disempowers women as they age” (Byrski Loc 51). While male power resides in money, status and authority, women are prized for their sexual attractiveness and thus, for their youthful appearance. As their looks fade, their power diminishes. Not only are they marked as undesirable, but they are typically cast as now being moody, depressed and emotionally unstable. (Byrski Loc. 69) Baba Copper, who wrote extensively on ageism in the 1980s summarizes the problem:

“Male contempt for the older woman as unfit for the reproducer/sex object roles filled by younger women (still the primary source of female power in the patriarchy) is the foundation of the old woman’s powerless position. Being largely barred from the working world further diminishes our status. If we are not sex objects or breeders or caretakers or wageworkers, we are loathsome since it is these roles which make females legitimate in male judgment” (16-17).

There are additional problems faced by women that add to the disparity between their experience and that of men in old age. One of these, identified and discussed at length by Barbara Macdonald in her book “Look Me In the Eye,” is the role of women as “servant to youth,” a role promulgated in the patriarchal family. (xiii)

Barbara Macdonald was a social worker, lesbian feminist, and ageism activist. Her activism focused on her belief that ageism was a central feminist issue. She worked tirelessly to encourage young feminists to be more inclusive of the concerns of older women in the feminist agenda.

Macdonald saw family as a source of ageism with old women being expected to serve everyone. “The fact that so many old women cling to this role as a shelter from the disgust and hatred that would otherwise be directed toward them make it no less oppressive” (xiii).  The key point here is that young women become complicit in the oppression of old women.

But Surely Feminist Inquiry Has Included Ageism?

Quite possibly some young feminists would take issue with the disturbing assertion that feminism has contributed in any way to the oppression faced by the aged and they might point to works such as The Double Standard of Aging.  However, as gerontologist Toni Calasanti and other writers have pointed out, feminists, including Sontag, have concentrated their attention on girls, young adults and middle age, rather than on old age. Their work sometimes extends as far the “third age,” defined as a period of life when a person is retired, but is physically and mentally active. It is more rare that the work of feminist scholars touches on the “fourth age,” a time marked by illness and decline. Martha Holstein takes feminists to task saying “by ignoring the phenomenological bodies of old women, feminists elide their commitment to rendering visible the unexplored, the ignored. They participate in the cultural exclusion of old women and so fail to work toward remedying that exclusion.” (Loc. 6429)

Cultural discourse on ageing has tended to focus on the process of ageing, rather than focusing on the reality of old age and its impact on women. Themes such as “agelessness” and “successful ageing” as well the “mask of ageing” all try to paint ageing in a positive light. The latter suggests that there is a split between one’s body and one’s subjective personal identity, with the body outwardly ageing while the inner “real self” remains young. (Andrews 305) There is considerable debate regarding all of these attempts to make us believe that we can effectively “transcend” old age, but alternative discourse, that tackles old age head on rather than attempting to deny its existence, is more difficult to find.

Baba Copper says of Sontag’s work on aging that she “did not question the cultural rejection of old women. Instead, she pleaded for a time extension of the acceptance which passing [pretending to be younger] provides for the middle years.” (17-18)

Calasanti concludes that feminists have been good about documenting statistics on discrimination faced by older women, but they don’t talk to old women to explore their daily experiences, nor do they consider the intersections of other inequalities with old age. (Calasanti 2006, 15)

Why Does Feminism Neglect Ageism?

There are a number of reasons why feminists have overlooked ageism as an important issue for study and analysis. In an article for the website Feministing.com, Safa Samiezade’-Yazd, who is concerned with feminist neglect of older women, proposes that firstly, in the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s, feminism was portrayed as a young woman’s cause.  Mothers and grandmothers were disregarded because the lifestyle choices they had made (although within the patriarchal confines) were incompatible with female empowerment being sought. She also suggests that feminism’s devotion to reproductive health and the right to choose aligned it with young women as did its goal of female independence over interdependence. Samiezade’-Yazd pointedly notes that unlike the dependency of babies, who represent the beginning of life, the dependency of old people “signals some type of regression in growth to younger people” (Feministing). This leads her to her fourth point, which is that young people are afraid of getting old and want to remain separate from that which scares them. Dealing with the concerns of the old shows young people their future. Julia Twigg, in an article in the Journal of Aging Studies, agrees with this, writing that the exclusion of older women from feminist writing reflects “the gerontophobia of the wider culture.” (60) Twigg’s article focuses on the body within gerontology and she notes that feminist writers have been very influential in their work on themes around “reproduction, self-fashioning, bodily exclusion, denigration and desire” but that their work has been focused on “younger, sexier bodies, by concern for the transgressive themes of queer theory and with the fashionable and media-focused questions of representation” (60). However, they have been reluctant to take on the aging body in part because of fear of, or distaste for, the aging female body – a gaze of youth – and in part because of the perception that it might be demeaning to the old to focus on biological factors of aging rather than social and structural factors.

Perspectives on Appearance and Ageing

One of the most interesting journal articles that I read with regard to ageism is “The Seductiveness of Agelessness” by Molly Andrews. Andrews takes on those social researchers who propose that old age is simply a social construct and that by eliminating it, we can eliminate ageism. The appeal of this is self-evident given society’s general fear of ageing, but Andrews considers that promoting “agelessness” is in fact a form of ageism that deprives “the old of one of their most hard-earned resources: their age. She notes that the denial of old age comes at great cost, as it strips us of our future. (303) She quotes Simone de Beauvoir who writes that “if we do not know what we are going to be, we cannot know what we are: let us recognize ourselves in this old man or in that old woman. It must be done if we are to take upon ourselves the entirety of our human state” (303).

Andrews then turns her attention to the widely-publicized theories of “successful ageing” that have seeped into public policy as well as into health and retirement fields. “Successful ageing” ties ideas of happiness and well-being to an active, fit lifestyle, one typically only available to people who have both money and leisure time. Unsurprisingly, corporate America has picked up on this theme and uses it to sell all manner of “lifestyle” products and activities to the elderly. Calasanti notes that successful ageing, with its emphasis on fitness, tends to mean “not aging, not being ‘old’ or, at the very least, not looking old” (Calasanti 2006, 15). For women, she suggests, this means that they be “healthy, slim, discreetly sexy and independent” (Calasanti 2006, 15).

In 2006 veteran newsreader Anna Ford left her job at the BBC, and quickly suggested that she was being pushed aside in favor of younger presenters. She said that after her nearly 30 years in television, her bosses were “ageist” and that women with “lines on their faces” were no longer welcome at the BBC. She criticized the BBC for passing over “very active and very worthwhile” people over the age of 60 in favor of newer presenters who were “brought in because they are younger.”

And here we get to the crux of the matter. So much written coverage of ageing today is really about how not to appear old. Andrews finds the concept to be troublesome in particular because it is based on “adaptation, whereby an individual’s progress is measured by the extent to which he/she conforms to the needs of existing society” (305) – and those needs are that everyone be youthful.  An old person will be a “failure” if they are unable to conform and meet arbitrary criteria. This clearly ignores class, race and other social differences that may affect an individual’s ability to “succeed” at ageing.

A third theory of ageing reviewed by Andrews is the “mask of ageing” theory which assumes a distinction between external appearance and one’s internal “spirit.” We have all heard the expression that “you are only as old as you feel.” Andrews believes that this mind/body split is dangerous. First, she sees an element of self-hatred in people who refuse to see themselves as old. In trying to convince themselves that age is a state of mind, and that they in fact are still young, they are denying reality. Secondly, these old people are essentially engaging in ageism themselves. They will frequently try and set themselves apart from those who they perceive to be old. In doing so, Andrews notes that they are “making a plea for personal exceptionalism which challenges, not the ageist stereotype, but rather its application to themselves” (306). They often separate themselves from other old people by trying to “pass” as being of another, more youthful group and in doing so, they, in particular women, become the target market for consumer products and services designed to provide the illusion of youth. Andrews is particularly blunt in her analysis of “passing” and the detrimental effects of it.  She quotes S. Healey who wrote that “passing” is “participating in your own erasure” (307) and states that “the dignity of the self is replaced by a secret self-loathing” (307). She writes that:

“In the end, our desperate attempts at passing are always bound to fail, for they are targeted at ourselves. We physically transform ourselves until we are unrecognizable, and still we do not win the elusive battle. We cannot win it, for as we wage this war, we destroy ourselves. Oblivious to the sources of our strength in age and to the possibility of self-renewal, we blindly create and sustain the conditions of our own self-censorship, and ultimately our own defeat.” (307-308)

Andrews concludes that we must embrace a new way of thinking about ageing, “one which is founded upon the premise of an integrated body and mind which co-exist in one and the same being” (308).

The Media and Aging

Australian author Liz Byrski has given thought to the importance for us all in “seeing ourselves and our lives reflected in the products of popular culture” (Loc. 85). It is a form of flattery that makes us feel acknowledged and included. But, she notes, ageing and old women are rarely given prominence in the products of popular culture.

Liz Byrski is an Australian writer and journalist. She has a PhD on the subject of feminist popular fiction. She is the author of nine novels, frequently putting older female characters at the center of the action.

Furthermore, if given minor roles, they are often stereotypical and negative, portraying women as “nosey neighbors, interfering mothers-in-law, dippy old aunts, scheming bitches or frail old burdens who impede the lives and the desires of the really important characters – men, younger women and children” (Loc. 85). In 2017, television offers some hope for improvement in this regard, as it appears willing to diversify its content and air programming about previously underrepresented groups such as the old. Yet there is no doubt that shows about seniors are still very rare. It was noted in Variety that Grace and Frankie, a Netflix series about two women in their 70s, is the first series since the famous Golden Girls to center on characters over 60. On a positive note, shows such as Orange is the New Black and Transparent are including more storylines about older women and not just those who are examples of “successful aging.”  These shows though are the exception.

With regard to film, things are bleak regarding ageism and a study in the lead up to the Academy Awards found a scarcity of characters aged 60 and over in Best Picture-nominated movies. The problem was most acute for senior women and older minority characters.  The study also found that only two out of the 25 lead characters in Best Picture-nominated films of the last three years were over 60, and both were males, played by Michael Keaton. (Ahmed) There are two points to be made here. The first is that it shows blatant discrimination against older actresses, and the second is that it represents a wasted opportunity as we have talented actors such as Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Cicely Tyson, Maggie Smith and Meryl Streep, all of whom could offer brilliant portrayals of lives that would provide acknowledgement for older women in our community, while appealing to a wider audience.

Actress Cicely Tyson understands the intersection of gender, race and age. This Kennedy Center Honors recipient has said, “Needless to say, there were very few roles over the years written for women. I had to wait for it not only to be written for a woman, but for a black woman. And then of course the longer I live, I have become involved in ageism. So there’s always been that challenge.”

And what of advertising? In this realm, old women have become used to seeing products for which they are the target market be advertised by women of a much younger age. One that I noticed was an ad for hair dye to “cover those grays” and which used a model in her early twenties. In the world of marketing, beauty still reigns supreme and the only older women one will find representing products are those with “age-defying” beauty. It is little wonder, in our youth-oriented society, where old women are patronized or treated with contempt, that so many women feel pressured into “passing” as younger than their real age, spending billions of dollars on cosmetics and treatments all with the goal of looking young. The representations they see online and in magazines are either young, or have the appearance of being young. Furthermore, our culture deems it acceptable to shame older women, and every day, online sites such as The Daily Mail dissect their appearance. And the women “fail” no matter what they do. They may be shamed for perhaps gaining weight, or looking tired. Or, if they are looking good, they will be analyzed by “experts” to determine what “work” they might have had done. Yesterday, the Daily Mail ran an article on Brigitte Trogneux, wife of the new French president. It was headlined “How DOES Macron’s Wife Defy Her Age?” and it suggested that extensions, veneers and some “very subtle plastic surgery” keep her looking youthful. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4483918/How-DOES-Macron-s-wife-defy-age.html)

It appears to be a no-win situation for older women.

Other Issues

I have touched on the loss of authority and status that accrues to women when they lose their source of income. Statistics presented in many sources provide plenty of evidence that the plight of women with regard to age discrimination in the workplace is worse than that of men. In addition, discrimination intensifies as age increases. (Collamer) Causes cited include physical appearance and also importantly, the fact that many women have resumes that make them more vulnerable to prejudicial treatment. For example, perhaps a gap in their work timeline because of time off to care for children. These are examples of sexism as well as ageism. But the devaluation of older women, according to some feminists, goes beyond this as young women, unmindful of their privilege, also succumb to ageism and, in the work world, may even participate in the displacement of older women workers. Baba Copper wrote her book Over The Hill to question the use of power by young women and to demand that they share their power and respect with old women. (18) Copper acknowledges that feminists and other young women act from a “socially conditioned view of female aging that reflects values contradictory to women’s interests” (55). However she still passes very harsh judgment on women suggesting that as women age and start to have more negative feelings about themselves, they rely more on any advantages conferred by their relative youth. (19) And Copper, like Barbara Macdonald, is concerned that young women are taught within the patriarchy, by their fathers, that they should expect service from women older than themselves – women who hold less power than they do. In this way many old women are put to work as unpaid labor, serving as caregivers for the young and the infirm. Copper and Macdonald view this as exploitation of old women. (25)

What Feminists Can Do

The impassioned plea made by Barbara Macdonald at a Women’s Studies conference in 1985 included these words: “You do not see us in our present lives. You do not identify with our issues. You exploit us; you patronize us; you stereotype us. But most of all, you ignore us” (122). Macdonald rightfully felt anger at the exclusion of issues pertaining to old women, including lesbians and women of color, from the agenda of young female activists. She noted that ignoring the meaning and politics of the lives of older women constituted “male thinking” and castigated younger women for rendering old women “invisible” (127).  Other writers are less harsh in their criticism of younger feminists, recognizing that they are operating within a system in which ageism is deeply entrenched and accepted, but all have ideas of what needs to be done in order to change the status quo.

At the scholarly level, Calasanti, Slevin and King argue strenuously for the study of age relations. They see that age serves as a social organizing principle, that there are power relationships between different ages and that age relations also intersect with other power relations. (17) They believe that in studying age relations, old age should be placed at the center of analysis. If this is done, feminists will be better placed to understand that we can no longer “write of gender, or generalize about ‘women’…as if they were all middle aged or younger any more than we can assume they are all white, middle class, or heterosexual” (25). In my view, the study of age relations will also offer young feminists greater awareness of the privilege that is granted to them by their youth and will encourage them not to use this power to take advantage of older women. Calasanti et al. add that the key in exploring age relations must be to listen to those who are disadvantaged by them. This is, I believe, the most important piece of advice for young feminists who want to address the issue of ageism towards old women. We must listen to the old and to the stories of their lives, not just as younger people, but as they are now. And we must be open to hearing about all of the intersections of oppression that they face due to class, race, gender, sexuality and age. A hallmark of feminism should be, as Martha Holstein notes, a “commitment to changing what is unacceptable to women” (Loc. 6427) and the issues of old women, across all spheres of their lives, must be included.

Molly Andrews asserts that we must also strive to “shift the centre” and calls for our investigations of age to start with an acceptance of age. She believes we must reject theories of ageing that deny the existence of age, or which suggest that ageing can and should be resisted, and instead, we should encourage old people to see value in the years they have lived. She advocates for a theory of ageing to take hold that does not require old people to mimic the young. One might think that in this age of social media, one would find opportunities for body positive campaigns to be waged for older women. However, we are still in an age where the older women themselves are less likely to have significant online presence (although this will change in coming years).

In 2016 artist Cindy Sherman produced images that confront what ageing means to a woman. In the series, she turns her own likeness into “avatars of ageing starlets” from the golden age of cinema. Per The New York Times: “She admits to a more ‘personal aspect’ in these images: ‘I, as an older woman, am struggling with the idea of being an older woman.’ She adds that ageing can have benefits, ‘at least on the romantic front.’ She says that she has matured with age, and is ‘in a really good place, in being happy with being single.’”

In addition, older women have spent years being conditioned that they will be better off if they distance themselves from issues that mark them as “old,” so may be reticent about speaking too loudly.  Young feminists have the opportunity to speak out on their behalf, and should do so when possible.

Speaking specifically to young feminists who are involved with media, there must be a constant push against the producers, editors, publishers and curators who cannot see beyond the culture of youth. A market does exist for content that portrays older women, representing their inner lives and the success and challenges they encounter.  Liz Byrski, an author who has written a series of successful novels featuring realistic older women as central characters, describes being laughed at when she first proposed her ideas to publishers. She persisted and proved them wrong. Calasanti, Slevin and King sum up their hope that feminist scholars and activists will:

“work to imbue old age with positive content – A content that reflects the diversity of old people, their lives, and their varied contributions. Rather than having to deny old age, or to strive to look young, old people should be able to be flabby, contemplative, or sexual, or not. In short, the goal of women’s studies scholars and activists should be to enhance old people’s freedom to choose life styles and ways of being old that are suited to them.” (26)

This goal is an admirable one and should be supported by all, for its achievement would benefit all of us in the long run.

Works Cited

Ahmed, Tufayel. “Oscars So Young? Senior Citizens Underrepresented, Research Finds.” Newsweek, 22 Feb. 2017, www.newsweek.com/oscars-underrepresenting-senior-citizens-research-557858. Accessed 11 May 2017.

Andrews, Molly. “The Seductiveness of Agelessness.” Cambridge Core. Cambridge University Press, 01 May 1999. Web. 11 May 2017.

Byrski, Liz. Getting On: Some Thoughts on Women and Ageing. Kindle ed., Momentum. 2012.

Calasanti, Toni M., Kathleen F. Slevin, and Neal King. “Ageism and Feminism: From “Et Cetera” to Center.” NWSA Journal. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 22 Mar. 2006. Web. 11 May 2017.

Calasanti, Toni M., and Kathleen F. Slevin. Age Matters: Realigning Feminist Thinking. Kindle ed. New York: Routledge, 2008.

“Cicely Tyson Among 2015 ‘Kennedy Center Honors’ Recipients.” EURweb, 15 July 2015, www.eurweb.com/2015/07/cicely-tyson-among-2015-kennedy-center-honors-recipients/. Accessed 11 May 2017.

Collamer, Nancy. “Age Discrimination: Proof It’s Worse For Women.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 28 Dec. 2015, https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2015/12/28/age-discrimination-proof-its-worse-for-women/#476eafec5b60. Accessed 11 May 2017.

Copper, Baba. Over the Hill: Reflections of Ageism between Women. Freedom, CA: Crossing, 1988. Print.

Gopnik, Blake. “Cindy Sherman Takes On Aging (Her Own).” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Apr. 2016. www.nytimes.com/2016/04/24/arts/design/cindy-sherman-takes-on-aging-her-own.html. Accessed 11 May 2017.

Gray, Tim. “Seniors and Actors With Disabilities Still Underrepresented On Screen.” Variety, 14 June 2016, variety.com/2016/tv/news/diversity-ageism-seniors-actors-with-disabilities-underrepresented-onscreen-grace-and-frankie-netflix-abc-1201793231/. Accessed 11 May 2017.

Holstein, Martha. “On Being an Aging Woman.” Calasanti and Slevin, Loc. 6194-6651.

King, Jeannette. Discourses of Ageing in Fiction and Feminism: The Invisible Woman. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. Ebook ed., https://books.google.com/books/about/Discourses_of_Ageing_in_Fiction_and_Femi.html?id=QTLsZvCQXfgC

King, Neal. “The Lengthening List of Oppressions: Age Relations and the Feminist Study of Inequality.” Calasanti and Slevin, Loc. 930-1531.

Laws, Glenda. Understanding Ageism: Lessons from Feminism and Postmodernism. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2017.

Macdonald, Barbara and Cynthia Rich. Look Me In The Eye: Old Women, Aging and Ageism. (Expanded Edition) Spinster Ink Books, Denver. 1991.

Miller, Jenni. “Read Actress Jamie Denbo’s Fantastic Rant About a Sexist, Ageist Casting Call.” The Cut. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2017. http://nymag.com/thecut/2017/05/read-actress-jamie-denbos-rant-about-a-sexist-casting-call.html

Rosenberg, Eli. “’To Age Is a Sin’: In Blunt Speech, Madonna Confronts Bias in Various Forms.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 10 Dec. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/12/10/arts/music/madonna-billboard-awards-speech-ageism-sexism.html. Accessed 11 May 2017.

Samiezade’-Yazd, Safa. “Ageism is a Feminist Issue.” Feministing. http://feministing.com/2010/07/27/ageism-is-a-feminist-issue/.Accessed 11 May 2017.

Twigg, Julia. “The body, gender, and age: Feminist insights in social gerontology.” Journal of Aging Studies 18 (2004). www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890406503000926. Accessed 11 May 2017. pp. 59-73.