Currents of History 3/2019
Vera GUDAC DODIĆ
Institute for Recent History of Serbia
luvenido@ptt.rs
Aging in Serbia in the Twentieth Century: A Gender Perspective[1]*
Abstract: The text sheds light on some research questions regarding the gender aspects of the past. It gives basic notes on accelerated demographic aging, as well as a historical review of the processes of aging in Serbia and gender inequality among the older generations, i.e. the feminization of the past. This work also includes presentations and perceptions of old age, thus older women, as well as how they are presented in domestic films.
Key words: Demographic Aging, Feminization of the Past, Women of the Third Age, Presenting Old Age
Summary
The accelerated processes of demographic aging place Serbia among the countries with the oldest population in Europe. The situation in which nearly one fifth of the population is older than 65 significantly determines the total social development in Serbia and has strong economic and social implications. In that context, researching old age from different perspectives, the consequences and outcomes of aging, is of increasing importance. Certain research questions related to the gender aspect of aging are highlighted in this work. Mass media significantly affect the shaping of the image that society has of the elderly. At the same time, media representations of third-age women often support different stereotypes, or even project them. The representation of older women on film is observed in the text through several randomly chosen Serbian and Yugoslav films. The contents that go into the movie characters of third-age women offer different images of age. The figures of older women were generally marginalized in film narratives, but are sometimes expressed through very complex characters.
[1]* The article is a result of work on the project Tradition and Transformation – Historical Heritage and National Identities in Serbia in the Twentieth Century (Nо 47019), which is being funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development.