Gender and Ageing Changing Roles and Relationships

by Arber, Sara; Davidson, Kate; Ginn, Jay

• ISBN13: 9780335213191
• ISBN10: 0335213197
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-11-01
• Publisher: Open University Press

Summary

This book is a follow-up to Arber and Ginn's award winningConnecting Gender and Ageing(1995). It contains original chapters from eminent writers on gender and ageing, addressing newly emergent areas within gender and ageing, including gender identity and masculinity in later life. Early work on gender and ageing was dominated by a focus on older women. The present collection breaks with this tradition by emphasizing changing gender roles and relationships, gender identity and an examination of masculinities in midlife and later life.A key theme running through the book is the need to reconceptualize partnership status, in order to understand the implications for women and men of widowhood, divorce and new forms of relationships, such as Living Apart Together (LAT-relationships). Another is the influence of socio-economic circumstances on how ageing is experienced and transitions are negotiated.The book illustrates new ways of thinking about old age and indicates policy implications, especially concerning the nature of service provision for older people. It will change the ways in which social scientists conceptualize later life. Written with undergraduate students and researchers in mind,Gender and Ageing: Changing Roles and Relationshipswill be an invaluable text for those studying social gerontology, sociology of later life, gender studies, health and community care and social policy.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables
Notes on Contributors
Changing Approaches to Gender and Later Life
Masculinities and Care Work in Old Age
New Identities in Ageing: Perspectives on Age, Gender and Life After Work
Reconceptualizing Intimacy and Ageing: Living Apart Together
Sex and Ageing: A Gendered Issue
Bringing Outsiders In: Gay and Lesbian Family Ties Over the Lifecourse
Social Networks and Social Well-Being of Older Men and Women Living Alone
Getting by Without a Spouse: Living Arrangements and Support of Older People in Italy
Sharing the Crust? Gender, Partnership Status and Inequalities in Pension Accumulation
Re-examining Gender and Marital Status: Material Well-Being and Social Involvement
Exploring the Social Worlds of Older Men
Sleep as a Social Act
Index.