This article identifies typical life course situations that women experience, which contribute to a cycle of discrimination or a recurrence of disadvantages simply because of their sex, race, or age. Although men suffer social, health, psychological, and economic disadvantages as they age, this article focuses primarily on women as a more deprived group. Male privilege operates at every social class level (Calasanti and Slevin, 2001). A working assumption in this article is that retirement and aging are more discontinuous experiences for men rather than part of the cycle of discrimination experienced by many women. (Contains 2 tables.)