In Search of Hidden Sexuality. Old Age and Sexuality in the Light of Humorous Narration

Abstract

This article deals with the perceptions of the elderly from the agrarian culture of early-to-mid-20thcentury Finland. It focusses especially on how the sexuality and corporeality of old women are defined in humorous oral narration. The research materials include archival anecdotes about old age and sexuality.The research draws upon theoretical discussions presented in feminist cultural gerontology and folklore studies. The figure of the old woman emerges here as a strikingly complex sexual agent, a figure whose body and sexuality are visible in anecdotes and not hidden.