Self-help and midlife crisis reification

Considering the contemporary processes of denying aging, the variety of identity branding and the elevation of youth as value, I propose an analysis as per how the midlife crises is portrayed in brazilian self-help books. Taking into account the concentration on the images of the male and female wolves in order to characterize this period of adult life in Brazil, this is where I focus the analysis. The effort is to capture the changes that the gender deviations bring to define the midlife in this kind of media. Men are seen as fragile and childish. On the other corner, women are seen as powerful and seductive, despite the physical transformations in this period of life. From the theoretical framework of sociology of emotions and care, and the generation discussions, I propose a debate on the socio-emotional expectations for this stage of life. (AU)