Is “Raging” Good for Health?: Older Women's Participation in the Raging Grannies

We explore the meanings and potential health-related benefits of older women's participation in the Raging Grannies, a voluntary activist organization. The group's activities are focused on social and political protest while also challenging stereotypes about aging women. Drawing on qualitative interview and focus group data, we employed empowerment theory as a means to examine the ways in which participation in the Raging Grannies contributed to older women's personal empowerment. Results were constructed around four key themes: (1) personal and social factors influencing involvement in the Raging Grannies; (2) leisure as a context for "raging," (3) empowering processes within the Raging Grannies, and (4) empowering outcomes resulting from participation.