In Acceleration: Sordid Stories of Septuagenarian Decline, sociologist Michael A. Messner tells humorous stories of ageing decline and forging ahead against ads to remain strong, virile, and forever young for a only few bucks. Ageing people face a quandary: as the passage of time accelerates, our bodies decelerate. We slow down. We hurt. We face limits, sometimes humiliating ones. And we complain. As boomer men get older, online musclemen bombard us with pitches: for a few bucks (often, quite a few bucks) we can remain strong, virile, and forever young. So, do we pony up our retirement savings in hopes of re-sprouting a head of hair, smoothing our skin, bulking our biceps, achieving erections on demand? As professor emeritus of sociology and gender studies at the University of Southern California, Messner's research spans the topics of gender and sports, men and feminism, gender-based violence, and war and peace. In Acceleration, Messner shares sordid stories of his disappearing hair, arthritic hands, failing eyes, collapsing face, crows feet, evaporating athletic skills, and the maddening bombardment of ads to stay forever young, enjoying the jokes on himself along the way.
