This article discusses qualitative research conducted in minority Francophone communites in Ontario. The perceptions of and participation in physical activity by some thirty women are analysed with respect to sociological foundations and current views on aging. These views apply to individual responsibility for health; to the links between health, beauty, and aging; to participation in sports; to perceptions of masculinity and femininity; and, finally, to the obligation to remain physically active at all stages of life. The results of the study among women grouped into three age brackets reveal that, although these women have adopted a view of individual responsibility for health and the prevention of the harmful effects of aging through regular physical exercise, they may also be seen as subjects who find strategies in their daily lives to avoid falling prey to the pressures of health and beauty standards regarding aging, to face limitations, and to develop a healthy way of experiencing the aging process.