Aging narratives: being old in contemporary society
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-20702014000100013Abstract
Based on interviews conducted with men and women over the age of 65 living in Portugal, the article aims to produce a depiction of what it means to be old and the impact of the aging process on the life and identity of the elderly person. Setting out from the premise that despite the greater regulation of age in contemporary society, a huge diversity of forms of experiencing old age exist, the text employs a microsociological, first-person analytical approach to discourses of aging. As well as differences in gender and social status, the senior population reveals a degree of resignation to aging as a natural process. However a number of aspects emerge as problematic for the elderly persons identity: the decline of the body and health, sexuality, the loss of activity, isolation and social discrimination are particularly relevant dimensions in terms of conceptualizing the elderly person as a reflexive actor.Downloads
References
Aboim, Sofia; Amor, Teresa; Ferreira, Vítor Sérgio & Nunes, Cátia. (2010), “Transições para a velhice”. In: Pais, José Machado & Ferreira, Vítor Sérgio (orgs.).
Tempos e transições de vida: Portugal ao espelho da Europa. Lisboa, ics.
Almeida, Ana Nunes de; Guerreiro, Maria das Dores; Lobo, Cristina; Torres, Anália & Wall, Karin. (1998), “Relações familiares: mudança e diversidade”. In: Viegas, José Manuel Leite & Costa, António Firmino da (orgs.). Portugal, que modernidade? Oeiras, Celta.
Arber, Sara & Ginn, Jay (orgs.). (1995), Connecting gender and ageing: a sociological approach. Buckingham, Open University Press.
Audiberti, Marie-Louise (2005), Les chemins de l’âge. Paris, hb Éditions.
Bandeira, Mário. (1996), Demografia e modernidade: família e transição demográfica em Portugal. Lisboa, Imprensa Nacional/Casa da Moeda.
Beck, Ulrich e Elizabeth Beck-Gernsheim. (2002), Individualization. Londres, Sage.
Bond, John & Coleman, Peter. (1993), Ageing in society: an introduction to social gerontology. Londres, Sage.
Bytheway, Bill. (1995), Ageism. Buckingham, Open University Press.
Carrilho, Maria & Patrício, Lurdes. (2005), “A situação demográfica recente em Portugal”. Revista de Estudos Demográficos, 38: 111-140.
Catarino, André et al. (1999), “Pós-menopausa e sexualidade”. Acta Portuguesa de Sexologia, 2 (1): 39-46.
Chudacoff, Howard. P. (1992), How old are you? Age consciousness in American culture. Princeton, nj, Princetown University Press.
Conway, Stephen & Hockey, Jenny. (1998), “Resisting the ‘mask’ of old age? The social meaning of lay health beliefs in later life”. Ageing and Society, 18: 469-494.
Esping-Andersen, Gösta. (1998), “A sustentabilidade dos estados-providência no século xxi”. Sociedade e Trabalho, n. esp. maio: 13-21.
Featherstone, Mike & Hepworth, Mike. (1989), “Aging and old age: reflections on the postmodern life course”. In: Bytheway, Bill; Keil, Teresa & Allat, Patricia (orgs.). Becoming and being old: sociological approaches to later life. Londres, Sage.
. (1995), Images of aging: cultural representations of later life. Nova York, Routledge.
Ferreira, Vitor Sérgio. (2008), “Be some body: modificação corporal e plasticidade identitária na sociedade contemporânea”. In: Cabral, Manuel Villaverde; Wall, Karin; Aboim, Sofia & Silva, Filipe Carreira da (orgs.). Itinerários. a investigação nos 25 anos do ics. Lisboa, Imprensa de Ciências Sociais.
Fleming, A. A. (1999). “Older men in contemporary discourses on ageing: absent bodies and invisible lives”. Nursing Inquiry, 6 (1): 3-8.
Fonseca, António Manuel. (2004), O envelhecimento, uma abordagem psicológica. Lisboa, Universidade Católica Editora.
. (2005), Desenvolvimento humano e envelhecimento. Lisboa, Climepsi.
Gergen, Mary. M. (1989), “Talking about menopause: a dialogic analysis”. In: Thomas, L. E. (org.). Research on adulthood and aging: the human sciences approach. Albany, ny, Suny Press.
Gesaworld. (2005), “Relatório final da fase i de diagnóstico da situação atual: projeto de apoio e assessoria à implementação de um modelo de rede de cuidados continuados integrados e progressivo desenvolvimento dos serviços comunitários de proximidade em Portugal para promoção e desenvolvimento de cuidados de saúde e apoio social a pessoas em situação de dependência”. Gesaworld Group.
Giddens, Anthony. (1992), As consequências da modernidade. Oeiras, Celta.
Gilleard, Chris & Higgs, Paul. (1998), “Aging and the limiting conditions of the body”. Sociological Research Online, 3 (4). Disponível em <http://www.socresonline.org.uk/3/4/4.html>.
Gullette, Margaret. M. (1997), “Menopause as magic marker: discursive consolidation in the United States, and strategies for cultural combat”. In: Komesaroff, P.; Rothfield, P. & Daly, J. (orgs.). Reinterpreting menopause: cultural and philosophical issues. Nova York, Routledge.
Hepworth, Mike. (2000), Stories of ageing. Buckingham, Open University Press.
Heslon, Christian. (2009), “L’adulte à son âge: dénis et défis du vieillir jeune”. In: Boutinet, Jean-Pierre & Dominicé, Pierre (orgs.). Où sont passés les adultes? Routes et déroutes d’un âge de la vie. Paris, Téraèdre.
Hockey, Jenny, Allison James. (2003), Social identities across the life course. Nova York, Palgrave Macmillan.
Johnson, Malcolm L. (org.). The Cambridge handbook of age and ageing. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Kalache, Alexandre; Barreto, Sandhi Maria & Keller, Ingrid. (2005), “Global ageing: the demographic revolution in all cultures and societies”. In: Johnson, Malcolm L. (org.). The Cambridge handbook of age and ageing. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Katz, S. (1999), “Fashioning agehood: lifestyle imagery and the commercial spirit of seniors culture”. In: Povlsen, Jørgen; Mellemgaard, Signe & Coninck-Smith, Ning de (orgs.). Childhood & old age. Odense, Dinamarca, Odense University Press.
Katzenstein, Larry. (1998). Viagra, the potency promise. Gordonsville, va, St Martin’s Press.
Kaufman, Sharon R. (1994), The ageless self: sources of meaning in later life. Madison, wi, University of Wisconsin Press.
Kohli, Martin; Guillemard, A. M. & Gunsteren, H. van. (1991), Time for retirement: comparative studies of early exit from the labour force. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Kohli, Martin. (2005), “Generational changes and generational equity”. In: Johnson, Malcolm L. (org.). The Cambridge handbook of age and ageing. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Kohli, Martin. (2007), “The institutionalization of the life course: looking back to look ahead”. Research in Human Development, 4 (3-4): 253-271.
Marshall, Barbara L. & Katz, Stephen. (2002). Forever functional: sexual fitness and the ageing male body. Body & Society, 8 (4): 43-70.
Marshall, Victor W. & Taylor, Philip. (2005), “Restructuring the life course: work and retirement”. In: Johnson, Malcolm L.(org.). The Cambridge handbook of age and ageing. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Martuccelli, Danilo. (2006), Forgé par l’épreuve: l’individu dans la France contemporaine. Paris, Armand Colin.
Mayer, Karl Ulrich. (2009), “New directions in life course research”. Annual Review of Sociology, 35: 413-433.
Millet-Bartoli, Françoise. (2002), La crise du milieu de la vie: une dexième chance. Paris, Odile Jacob.
Paúl, Constança & Fonseca, António Manuel. (2005), Envelhecer em Portugal. Lisboa, Climepsi.
Phillipson, Chris. (2005), “The political economy of old age”. In: Johnson, Malcolm L. (org.). The Cambridge handbook of age and ageing. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Pierson, Paul. (1994), Dismantling the welfare state? Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Rodrigues, Patrícia Cruz; Andrade, Shirley Barros Conceição & Faro, Ana Cristina Mancussi e. (2008), “Envelhecimento, sexualidade e qualidade de vida: revisão da literatura”. Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre o Envelhecimento, 13 (2): 205-220.
Rosa, Eugénio. (1998), “Segurança social: sustentabilidade financeira ou redução de direitos”. Sociedade e Trabalho, n. esp. maio: 66-75.
Rosa, Maria João Valente. (1996), “O envelhecimento e as dinâmicas demográficas da população portuguesa a partir de (1960), dos dados ao dilema”. In: Barreto, António (org.). Situação social em Portugal, 1960-1995. Lisboa, Imprensa de Ciências Sociais.
Santos, Boaventura Sousa & Ferreira, Sílvia. (1998), “Para uma reforma solidária da segurança social”. Sociedade e Trabalho, n. esp. maio: 50-57.
Scott, Anne e G. Clare Wenger. (1995), “Gender and social support networks in later life”. In: Arber, Sara & Ginn, Jay (orgs.). Connecting gender and ageing: a sociological approach. Buckingham, Open University Press.
Silva, Carlos Pereira. (1998a), “Reforma da segurança social: os regimes complementares e o reforço da sustentabilidade financeira do regime público”. Sociedade e Trabalho, n. esp. maio: 8-65.
Silva, Cristina Santos. (1998b), “Notas sobre a reforma da segurança social”. Sociedade e Trabalho, n. esp. maio: 42-49.
Thompson, Paul; Itzin, Catherine & Abendstern, Michele. (1991), I don’t feel old: understanding the experience of later life. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Vasconcellos, Doris et al. (2004), “A sexualidade no processo do envelhecimento: novas perspectivas: comparação transcultural”. Estudos de Psicologia, 9 (3): 413-419.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2015 Tempo Social
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
