Broken down by age and gender - ''The problem of old women'' redefined

The last decade has seen the emergence of a feminist awareness of old age and, in particular, a growing awareness of, what has come to be seen as ''the problem of old women.'' Old women it has been consistently demonstrated, are disadvantaged in a variety of ways in relation to old men, They are poorer, older, and sicker; they have less adequate housing and less access to private transport; they are more likely to experience widowhood severe disability, and institutionalization. Taking ''the problem of old women'' as its starting point, this article argues for a less phallocentric analysis of women in old age, which is less reliant on men as a relational category to define the conditions, experiences, and resources of older women.