Rupesh Gowtham
Biomedicine is a branch of medicine that applies biological and physiological principles to clinical practice. It is also known as mainstream medicine, Western medicine, or conventional medicine. The emphasis in biomedicine is on standard, biologically validated, evidence-based treatment that is administered by formally trained physicians, nurses, and other licensed practitioners. In the Western world, the idea that medical or quasi-medical concepts can intervene in the process of aging to slow, stop, or even reverse it has become a popular and scientific buzzword. An interdisciplinary approach that draws on ethics, cultural anthropology, sociology, and history to provide a new understanding of biomedicine as a social and cultural practice as it engages with Western society's quest for longevity is the focus of this special issue, which focuses specifically on biomedicine and its relationship to anti-aging cultures. Several major themes emerge from the historical and sociocultural context in which anti-aging movements have constructed aging bodies and the aging process: the contested nature of anti-aging as a legitimate field of gerontology, the competing definitions of old age within biomedicine, the medicalization of old age, and the ethics of the anti-aging market. The following are some suggested areas for future research on the subject of anti-aging medicine and its place in Western society: the necessity of contrasting the science and biomedicine of antiaging with those in this "targeted" age, paying closer attention to the various stages of old age and the gender dynamics involved, taking into account the social and economic differences among the elderly, and analysing the role that the media plays in forming and shaping anti-aging and biomedicine discourses. The papers in this special issue show how anti-aging in biomedicine has many different aspects and how it is changing what it means to be old.
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