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Beyond wrinkles: ageing, graphic medicine, and Zidrou and Aimée de Jongh’s Blossoms in Autumn
  1. Livine Ancy A1,
  2. Sathyaraj Venkatesan2
  1. 1Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli, Tiruchirappalli 620015, Tamil Nadu, India
  2. 2Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India
  1. Correspondence to Livine Ancy A, NIT-Tiruchirappalli, Tiruchirappalli, India; livine2212{at}gmail.com

Abstract

Ageing, an inevitable biological process, is often oversimplified, subjecting elderly individuals to both positive and negative sociocultural stereotypes. Elderly individuals are stigmatised as passive, suffering and asexual, while simultaneously being expected to embody an active, successful and productive approach towards ageing. Departing from these narrow perceptions, this article draws examples from Zidrou and Aimée de Jongh’s graphic narrative Blossoms in Autumn to provide a nuanced perspective on the ageing process. Using the affordances of comics, this essay examines how Blossoms in Autumn addresses unarticulated aspects of ageing, including changing bodily features, sexuality and intimacy, among others. In so doing, this essay challenges the unilateral perceptions of ageing.

  • Comics and Medicine
  • Graphic Medicine

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https://doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2024-012898

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors LAA conceived the research problem, wrote the paper, structured the paper, and analysed the text through formal analysis and interpretation. SV enhanced the research problem formulation, edited and proofread the manuscript, played a vital role in analysing the text through formal analysis and interpretation. LAA is the guarantor of the paper.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient and public involvement Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.