Gender and sexuality combine with age to affect life chances in contemporary Britain in several ways. Younger females seem to have better opportunities than males, while the influence of ethnicity on life chances for the elderly is under-examined. Gay men tend to age faster than lesbians or heterosexuals due to social stigmas. Overall, British culture represents aging negatively compared to some communities, indicating gender and sexuality shape life experiences as people age in the UK.

1. Critically discuss the ways in which
gender and/or sexuality combine
with ageing or age to affect life
chances in contemporary Britain.
By Jessica Blenman

2. Intro
• In my intro I thought it was necessary to define the
terms used in the question.
• It was important to do this as terms such as gender and
sexuality can be understood in different ways.
• Gender- can be understood as a division between
humans into two categories…
• Sexuality- is something attached to bodies that
represent a quality of being and ability to be sexual/
property of self-identity.
• I finished the intro by relating back to the question of
gender/sexuality combined with age and also the
importance of understanding the context of the
question- in this case we are talking from the
perspective of a Western society.

3. Main Body
• 1st para focuses on ageing. Highlights the fact that ageing
does not just apply to the old but also the young. Addresses
the impact ageism has on youths vs elderly and concludes
that although ageing is biological, it is not understood or
experienced in the same way universally.
• 2nd para continues its focus on youths but addresses the
alternating life chances in relation to gender, ethnicity and
sexuality. It is concluded that young females seem to have
better opportunities then males in contemporary Britain.
• 3rd and 4th para moves to the elderly and addresses the
slightly under- examined influence that ethnicity has on the
old, specifically in Britain. As well as this a comparison is
made between the development of the elderly according to
gender.

4. Main Points (contd.)
• 5th para addresses the elderly’s involvement in society
and the stigma that is attached to them eg. “waste of
space” vs “Third Age” and aiding society through family
help.
• 6th para highlights the differences of ageing between
sexualities. Gay men tend to age a lot faster then
lesbians and heterosexuals.
• 7th para reaffirms the importance of considering
cultural differences associated with ageing and the
possible conclusion that Britain tends to represent
ageing as an overall negative concept which differs to
that of the Asian and African communities for example.

5. Conclusion
• Round up and overall summary of what has
been said in the essay and also a concluding
viewpoint that addresses the original question
and provides a clear understanding of how
gender and sexuality affect life chances in
ageing.