This article argues that older people – by virtue (at least in part) of their association with the past – lack visibility in dominant conceptions of the contemporary. With its (neo-) modernist emphasis on the innovative new, ‘the contemporary’ – as a descriptor of the present – aligns, prejudicially, with youth. The contemporary as category or concept is frequently discussed in metaphorical terms that align it with early phases of the life course. Within this frame older women are particularly troublesome to the discourse of the contemporary, wherein they represent a blockage in the flow of futurity. After offering a theorisation of the ways in which contemporary operates in these terms, the article concludes by considering two texts – a film, Michael Haneke’s Amour (2012), and a play, debbie tucker green’s generations (2005) – both of which craft encounters with narratives of old age and gender, and are commonly regarded as ‘contemporary’ according to the terms outlined.

There are multiple, sometimes conflicting narratives of ageing. This article surveys those influential in British culture since c. 1900. There is a particular focus upon gender which is often overlooked in common narratives, especially the fact that women have long outlived men, on average, and are still the majority of people defined as ‘old’. This large age group, aged from their 60s to past 100, is subject to much stereotyping and generalisation, for example that they are all dependent ‘burdens’ upon younger people, and that they are incapable of learning new skills. This article challenges these generalisations by stressing the great diversity of the age group including between rich and poor, fit and frail, and highlighting their contributions to society and the economy through paid work, unpaid volunteering, care for aged and younger relatives including grandchildren and financial support for younger people.