Feminism is a movement and ideology that advocates for equality between the sexes. It points out how society centers the experiences of men and de-centers those of women, highlights sexism and inequalities women face, and advocates for women’s rights. A recent feminist ideology, known as intersectional feminism, integrates wider perspectives that include other identities, such as race, class, sexuality, ability, and nationality, examining the intersections between types of marginalization. The book takes a feminist perspective on older women’s lives, as opposed to mainstream, sexist perspectives regarding their attractiveness, sexuality, and role in the world: “Our sexuality is mocked, our bodies are derided, and our voices are silenced […] In a society that values the young, the fit, and beautiful, we all eventually wind up lacking” (34). Although Pipher looks at older women from an alternative viewpoint, she does not engage with feminist theory or concepts in detail or point to the specific ways her ideas are feminist. Her feminism centers on confronting prevailing ideas about older women as devalued, unattractive, asexual, and incompetent by showing examples of women who challenge these stereotypes. The book also highlights some of the harms older women experience in patriarchal society throughout their lives, such as being taught to hide their anger.

Lookism refers to discrimination against a person based on their physical appearance. The term originated in the 1970s as a way to describe discrimination and prejudice against people who were overweight, but the term’s usage has expanded to all aspects of appearance. Pipher points to the lookism older women experience in relation to their perceived loss of attractiveness and sexuality as they age, in comparison to a societal ideal that favors youth. Older women deal with lookism as discrimination based on both ageism and sexism.