Being an Older Woman

A Study in the Social Production of Identity

Bibliographic Data

ID23142255
AuthorsIsabella Paoletti (0000-0003-3230-5207, corresponding author)
Year2020
Pages112
Publication date2020-07-24
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueBeing an Older Woman (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.4324/9781003064145
OpenAlexW575905615
Open LibraryOL30181311M
ISBN9781003064145
LanguageEN
Citations received19

The study presented in this volume examines how older women's identities are socially constructed and, in particular, how they can be influenced by institutional intervention. The interest in identity production is not only theoretical, but also practical. Different perceptions of oneself as an older woman involve considerable differences in the definition of that person's possible sphere of action, and therefore, in her life perspectives. The data -- collected during a four-year project studying older women -- consist of video recordings of the committee meetings of the Older Women's Group of Perugia, Italy. Other video recordings of theater workshops and of the management committee meetings of the Senior Citizen Centers in Perugia are used as a source of comparison. Transcripts of the video material are analyzed through a detailed discourse analysis within an ethnomethodological framework. The data are used to explore how gender and age identities are interactionally constructed in specific institutional contexts. The first part of the book focuses on the interactional construction of aging. It shows how "being old" is constructed conversationally, in particular, through the use of membership categories. Distancing from the category "old" and denial of aging are frequently encountered conversational moves. However, the category is perceived as acceptable, even desired and invoked, when it becomes an institutionally relevant category, giving access to interesting activities or special benefits. The second part of the book explores gender identification. Conflict among different institutional subjects is shown to fade into gender conflict. The study analyzes how institutional interventions exert a powerful influence on older women's identities, giving them new opportunities for action. It also looks at how the conversational styles, attitudes, and activities of specific women influence the features of those very institutions. In short, this book describes the discourse and social practices that constitute older women's identities -- helping to identify and deconstruct stereotypes that tend to produce marginalization of older people. The book's existence is itself a contribution to the construction of older women as busy, lively, appealing human beings; it is the first research publication to emerge from The European Older Women's Project. Of interest to those in any discipline studying the topics of ethnomethodology, gender, aging, and identity.

Aesthetics · Art · Economics · Identity (music) · Production (economics) · Social group · Social identity theory · Social production · Social science · Sociology · Gender Studies · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Psychology · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics · Adult day care centers · Aging · Centres de jour pour personnes agees · Communication · Femmes âgées · Identity · Identity (Psychology) · Language Arts & Disciplines · Older women · Psychological aspects · Psychological aspects of Adult day care centers · Women · Women's Health Services · Women's Studies

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