Life Stages, Gender and Temporalities. Historical and Sociological Reflections

Research Framework: Long conducted in parallel,studies on life stages and gender have converged more in recent years, but stillleave large areas uncovered. Some analyzes still treat sex as a simple variable thatdoes not require problematization. Others lose sight of the fact that growing up andaging generate categories and trajectories that are the result of interactions ofsex and age. The link between gender and age thus still needs to be tightened. Objectives: The introductory article of theissue " Life Stages, Gender and Temporalities" proposes to explore the interactionsbetween age and gender relations by examining the gendered constructions of ages andthe life trajectories structured by gender. Methodology: This article lists studies bysociologists and historians exploring gender/age links. Results: The articles presented help to show towhat extent gender and age relationships overlap and interact in the development ofsocial inequalities throughout the life of individuals. They also participate inquestioning the social hierarchy which is "mechanically" based on gender and certainage-related markers. Conclusions: The joint analysis of gender andage relations is progressing, but slowly, and still remains in the blind spot ofintersectional perspectives. While current research now recognizes gender and age asconstantly interacting systems, it too seldom addresses the power relations and thecumulative inequalities they generate. Contribution: This introductory article opensup new research perspectives, both with regard to the gendered processes favouringthe development of sexual physical characteristics and to the dominant social codesthat shape heteronormative experiences and temporalities.