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Gender Mystique

The Eight Ages of Modern Humans

8/28/2018

2 Comments

 
Most of us have heard Shakespeare's "seven ages of man" monologue from As You Like It.
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.
​I browsed the greeting cards at the grocery store today, and this is what I found. Except for the 40th and 50th birthday cards, they were each the only card for that birthday. There were three options for 40th birthday, and five for the fiftieth. What do you think these cards can tell us about aging culture in the United States today?
2 Comments
Patsy Liao
10/21/2018 08:42:12 pm

Perhaps writers of the greeting cards do not know what to say to those reaching various milestones, particularly for those turning 60, 70, and beyond. They may be too young. I think that Americans may be uncomfortable with older people and that aging reminds them of their own mortality. We make fun of reaching milestones; perhaps we should be revering them.

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Jo
10/22/2018 10:49:50 am

I agree! In fact, I doubt there are many older greeting card designers. Now I am curious to look into the history of age-specific greeting cards -- my my ample free time, of course.

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    Jo Paoletti

    Professor Emerita
    ​American Studies
    University of Maryland

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