This article aims to investigate the way in which biopower focuses on the social construction of old age nowadays, mostly represented by medical-scientific discourse. We discuss the implications of this power and its implication in the position of social exclusion and marginalization of the elderly in contemporary culture. We investigate the social construction of old age today and we seek to identify, from Foucault's work: 1) the origins, characteristics and specificities of biopower, and, 2) analyze the configurations of sovereign and disciplinary power. We hope thus to rethink the position of the elderly and foster opportunities for building a new image for this population.
Aged; Biopower; Foucault, Michel, 1926-1984; Power
