Aging in e-place: reflections on online communities for the aged in India

ABSTRACT

In this short piece, I offer a reconfiguration of the term “aging in place” by analyzing media content of web-based senior-focused portals while demonstrating how these online consumer-driven spaces unwittingly re-create new social relations and imagined communities. Building on the sparse body of scholarship on extra-familial, kin-like networks, I reflect on the cultural possibility of internet spaces as surrogate “places” for later life non-kin sociality. In this exploration, I privilege the possibility of enriched selfhood of older Indians by moving away from the conventional gerontological trope of the (Indian) elderly as indivisible familial subjects, as a deliberate process of decolonizing the field of gerontology.     

The Guardianship Experience of Women: The Relationship Between Older Wards and Their Guardians

SUMMARY

This research examined how 156 female legal caregivers responded to difficulties of being a guardian, how they derived meaning from their guardianship activities, and how the role of guardian influenced their perception of aging. The most frequent activities in which guardians engaged were visiting, providing emotional support, and to a lesser extent, giving instrumental assistance. Guardians described their emotional relationships with their wards as either “sympathetic,” “sad,” “challenged,” or “hostile.” Despite hardships associated with the duties of being a guardian, most of the women perceived benefits and expressed satisfaction from this role. Guardians reported that the relationship with their female wards shaped their perception of aging and the conception of their own aging.     

The paradoxes of communication and collaboration in maternity care: A video-reflexivity study with professionals and parents

BackgroundResearch on maternity care often focuses on factors that prevent good communication and collaboration and rarely includes important stakeholders – parents – as co-researchers. To understand how professionals and parents in Dutch maternity care accomplish constructive communication and collaboration, we examined their interactions in the clinic, looking for “good practice”.MethodsWe used the video-reflexive ethnographic method in 9 midwifery practices and 2 obstetric units.FindingsWe conducted 16 meetings where participants reflected on video recordings of their clinical interactions. We found that informal strategies facilitate communication and collaboration: “talk work” – small talk and humour – and “work beyond words” – familiarity, use of sight, touch, sound, and non-verbal gestures. When using these strategies, participants noted that it is important to be sensitive to context, to the values and feelings of others, and to the timing of care. Our analysis of their ways of being sensitive shows that good communication and collaboration involves “paradoxical care”, e.g., concurrent acts of “regulated spontaneity” and “informal formalities”.DiscussionAcknowledging and reinforcing paradoxical care skills will help caregivers develop the competencies needed to address the changing demands of health care. The video-reflexive ethnographic method offers an innovative approach to studying everyday work, focusing on informal and implicit aspects of practice and providing a bottom up approach, integrating researchers, professionals and parents.ConclusionGood communication and collaboration in maternity care involves “paradoxical care” requiring social sensitivity and self-reflection, skills that should be included as part of professional training.     

Co-Sexuality and Organizing: The Master Narrative of “Normal” Sexuality in the Midwestern Workplace

ABSTRACT

Human sexuality is a highly regulated but fluid construct that people communicatively organize around. What has been socially constructed as “normal” sexuality (e.g., preferences, rights, vocabulary, etc.) has shifted dramatically over time, and differently between communities and geographic boundaries. In workplace contexts, where policies and daily practices explicitly and implicitly regulate performances of and communication about sexuality, regional and cultural sexual “norms” can affect how people of diverse sexualities understand and experience their jobs. The Midwestern United States is a particularly complex and diverse region when considering sexual equality in the workplace. Using the lens of co-sexuality, this study explores how people identifying with varying sexual, gender, and professional identities in Midwestern workplaces explained their perceptions of “normal” sexuality and how it affected their workplace experiences. Participants drew on the master narrative of the Midwest, composed of perceived Judeo-Christian norms and a cultural discomfort with difference, and described feeling simultaneously pulled toward and pushed away from cultural sexual “norms” in their day-to-day work environments.     

Being “easy”: Women’s desire to accept help in later life

ABSTRACT

This article examines the concept of being “easy” as a quality that female caregivers aspire to as they envision their potential care in later life. It draws on data from a qualitative study exploring the significance of caregiving to adult daughters’ perspectives and plans for their own aging. Caregivers’ experiences differ based upon their perception of how easy or difficult it was to care for their loved one. The former exemplifies a positive way to approach aging and the receiving of care. Being easy describes an attitude that these caregivers desired for their own later life.     

Epidurals during normal labour and birth — Midwives’ attitudes and experiences

BackgroundMidwives have their own beliefs and values regarding pain during childbirth. Their preferences concerning labour pain management may influence women’s choices.AimTo gain a deeper understanding of midwives’ attitudes and experiences regarding the use of an epidural during normal labour.MethodsA qualitative approach was chosen for data collection. Ten in-depth interviews were conducted with midwives working in three different obstetric units in Norway. The transcribed interviews were analysed using Malterud’s systematic text condensation.FindingsThe analysis provided two main themes: “Normal childbirth as the goal” and “Challenges to the practice, knowledge, philosophy and experience of midwives”. Distinctive differences in experiences and attitudes were found. The workplace culture in the obstetric units affected the midwives’ attitudes and their midwifery practice. How they attended to women with epidural also differed. An epidural was often used as a substitute for continuous support when the obstetric unit was busy.DiscussionMidwives estimate labour pain differently, and this might impact the midwifery care. However, midwives’ interests and preferences concerning labour pain management should not influence women’s choices. Midwives are affected by the setting where they work, and research highlights that an epidural might lead to a focus on medical procedures instead of the normality of labour.ConclusionMidwives should be aware of how powerful their position is and how the workplace culture might influence their attitudes. The focus should be on “working with” women to promote a normal birth process, even with an epidural.     

The Experiences and Meanings That Shape Heterosexual Fathers’ Relationships With Their Gay Sons in South Africa

ABSTRACT

Gay men’s relationships with their mothers are likely to be more positive than their relationships with their fathers, and fathers are less likely to be told, less likely to be told first, and more likely to react negatively to disclosure than mothers. Drawing on an interpretivist approach, an individual in-depth interview strategy was adopted in the study as a means of gathering data from six Afrikaans-speaking White fathers, between the ages of 53 and 61 years (median: 55.5 years), residing in Gauteng, South Africa. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed for later coding and analysis. Through thematic network analysis, eight organizing themes emerged and were explored. For the purpose of this article only three organizing themes are discussed, namely “subliminal awareness prior to coming out,” “epistemic rupture of internal systems of ideas/beliefs,” and “acceptance as a complex and ongoing dialectical and reconciliatory process.” The themes support the view that most parents are neither totally rejecting nor fully accepting of their gay sons. Although the fathers may have attained a level of “loving denial” in the relationships with their gay sons, most continue to struggle with the meaning and expression of same-sex sexuality. Despite these challenges, it is recognized that the fathers are adapting to changing circumstances and are trying to find ways to tolerate, accommodate, and in some ways accept their gay sons.     

Negotiating Religiosity and Sexual Identity Among Hispanic Lesbian Mothers

ABSTRACT

Hispanic lesbian mothers face bicultural tensions that stigmatize their roles as mothers. Religion could produce heightened conflict given their potential incompatibility with the role of a “good mother.” In particular, there is a potential for conflict between the definition of a “good mother” set forth in Catholicism and the sexual orientation of Hispanic lesbians. I conducted semistructured in-depth interviews to examine how Hispanic lesbian mothers negotiate their Catholic religious identity with aspects of their sexual identity. More specifically, I examined the strategies that Hispanic lesbian mothers use to reconcile or navigate perceived conflict between their roles as a Catholic and as a lesbian. The research questions to be answered were: How do Hispanic lesbian mothers negotiate a Catholic religious and a sexual identity? How do Hispanic lesbian mothers create and maintain a religious narrative? How do Hispanic lesbian mothers redefine religion and spirituality?     

Iranian obstetricians’ views about the factors that influence pregnant women's choice of delivery method: A qualitative study

BackgroundCaesarean section is a commonly performed childbirth procedure. While caesarean section is undeniably a lifesaving procedure for some mothers and babies, it can also be an unnecessary procedure for others. Different factors may be involved in the rate of birth by caesarean section.QuestionThis qualitative study was conducted in Kashan city, Iran, to explore obstetrician's views of what might influence pregnant women's choice of delivery method.MethodsObstetricians’ views and experiences were collected using semi-structured interviews. Interviews were conducted in a clinic or hospital, based on the preference of the 18 physicians who agreed to participate in the study. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. Participants were asked key questions, including: “Why do some women prefer caesarean section?”; “What kind of delivery did you have and why?”; “What kind of delivery would you recommend to pregnant women and why?” Inductive qualitative content analysis was undertaken using the method described by Morreti with 120 initial codes categorized into six categories.FindingsThe six categories developed from the initial codes were: factors relating to women, obstetricians, delivery conditions, complications, society's beliefs and the health system.ConclusionA qualitative study conducted in Iran showed that most of the factors identified by participants facilitated the choice of caesarean section. Vaginal birth was anticipated as a painful and lengthy process, with low cultural acceptance and resulting in less income for obstetricians.     

A complex and demanding situation – Midwifery preceptors and midwifery students’ experiences of teaching and learning prevention of severe perineal trauma

BackgroundMany high-income countries have seen an increase in severe perineal trauma. Teaching strategies and conditions for learning during the active second stage of labour are scarcely described.AimTo describe midwifery preceptors and midwifery students’ experiences’ of teaching and learning how to manage the second stage of labour, with the specific aim of preventing severe perineal trauma.MethodsA qualitative study with focus group discussions and individual in depth-interviews with preceptor midwives (n = 23) and student midwives (n = 10). Data were analysed by qualitative content analysis.Results“A complex and demanding situation with mutual need for feedback, reflection and safety” was the overall theme describing the conditions. Three sub-themes were identified. “Adapting to a unique situation” refers to the difficulty of teaching and learning the aspects needed to prevent severe perineal trauma, and to provide care during this stage. “Hindering and limiting circumstances” describes teaching strategies that were perceived negatively, and how midwifery students tried to adapt to the preceptors rather than the birthing women. “A trustful and communicative relationship” describes the importance of the relationship between the student and the preceptor, where communication was a central, but not obvious part.ConclusionAn increased awareness among preceptors is needed to optimize teaching strategies, enabling the students to focus on learning the art of the second stage of labour; supporting the woman, preventing severe perineal trauma and ensuring the safety of the unborn baby. Future research should address how existing prevention models can include training to increase preceptors’ confidence in teaching.     

The quiver is full: metonymy and affiliation in 19 Kids and Counting’s depiction of pregnancy loss in advanced maternal age

Abstract

This investigation into the cultural dynamics of gendered, aging bodies attends to a mediated representation of what contemporary biomedicine defines as pregnancy in “advanced maternal age” (AMA). We offer a feminist rhetorical analysis of an episode of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting entitled “A Duggar Loss,” where 45-year-old matriarch Michelle Duggar experiences pregnancy loss. In the episode, age is reconfigured in discussions of AMA pregnancy through a metonymic substitution and slippage of risk discourses, pre-natal self-care, and technological interaction. Moreover, “A Duggar Loss” mobilizes strategies of expansive affiliation around and through reproductive choice, which appears to align with feminist principles of reproductive autonomy despite the family’s ties to the Quiverfull Movement. This work contributes to feminist studies of aging bodies by suggesting that representations of advanced maternal age pregnancy remain a central, yet undertheorized subject in formulating powerful trans-ideological affiliations that can undermine progressive reproductive politics.     

The effect of political generation on identity and social change: Age cohort consequences

ABSTRACT

In this article, we explore how political generation affects the ways in which diverse individuals come together and change their social and personal identities. Drawing on 52 in-depth interviews with members of the Red Hat Society, we show that women draw on their political generation, and the gains of the women’s movement specifically, to oppose cultural constructions of aging. The Red Hat Society provides a “free space” for women to foster a collective identity that both visibly challenges aging norms and provides its members new standards for self-approval. We conclude by highlighting the importance of focusing on political generation to understand collective action over the life course and call for more scholarship on the function of political generation in social change.     

How diversity gets lost: Age and gender in design practices of information and communication technologies

ABSTRACT

This article adopts an intersectional approach to investigate how age, gender, and diversity are represented, silenced, or prioritized in design. Based on a comparative study of design practices of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for young girls and older people, this article describes differences and similarities in the ways in which designers tried to cope with diversity. Ultimately diversity was neglected, and the developers relied on hegemonic views of gender and age, constructed older people and young girls as an “other,” and consequently their input was neglected. These views were thus materialized in design and reinforce such views in powerful yet unobtrusive ways.     

Researching to Transgress: The Need for Critical Feminism in Gerontology

SUMMARY

This article defines “empowering research and argues the need for a critical gerontology” informed by feminist and postmodern theories which focus on the connections between language, self, and social action. The author calls for feminist gerontology which evokes critical consciousness on the part of the researcher and participants. Feminist gerontologists are encouraged to engage in self-reflection and self-critique in regards to their own attitudes toward aging and to include personal criticism in their scholarly writings. Examples of feminist research on aging which illustrate these characteristics are provided.     

Love,Lust, and Loss in the Early Age of AIDS: The Discourse in the Body Politic From 1981 to 1987

ABSTRACT

This article explores the idea that the AIDS epidemic constituted a defining moment for the Canadian gay rights movement and illuminates the intricate power dynamics of the development of a community identity. Using grounded theory inductive and deductive content analysis, and interviews with activists from the Body Politic magazine, this article considers notions of health “from above” and “from below” by examining relations between the community and government and their confrontation with medicalization and the medical profession. I also examine how the magazine reported and negotiated issues related to the community’s self-policing and “self-managed oppression” through efforts to promote safer sex and risk reduction.     

Spare Rib,Second-Wave Feminism and the Politics of Consumption

This article examines the significance of representations of both consumer culture and consumption practices in the British feminist magazine Spare Rib during its initial years of publication from 1972 to 1974. The analysis identifies how the magazine combined an established feminist critique of consumer culture with guidance on responsible consumption practices. The dispositions towards consumption that are recommended to readers are shaped by four key values: these are health, the natural, economy and craft production. These values underpin a politics of consumption during a period in which Spare Rib attempted to negotiate a feminist identity. However, once this feminist identity was established, content centred around consumption rapidly diminished as it was apparently not “feminist” enough. The article questions how a “conventional” position was established against both consumer culture and consumption practices within second-wave feminism and raises questions about the impact of this position on feminism's relationship to both consumer culture and consumption practices today.     

“Unnatural Fornication” Cases Under State-Socialism: A Hungarian–Slovenian Comparative Social-Historical Approach

This comparative social-historical study examines different versions of state-socialist body politics manifested in Hungary and Slovenia mainly during the 1950s by using archive material of “unnatural fornication” court cases. By analyzing the available Hungarian “természet elleni fajtalanság” and Slovenian “nenaravno ob?evanje” court cases, we can shed light on how the defendants were treated by the police and the judiciary. On the basis of these archive data that have never been examined before from these angles, we can construct an at least partial picture of the practices and consequences of state surveillance of same-sex-attracted men during state-socialism. The article explores the functioning of state-socialist social control mechanisms directed at nonnormative sexualities that had long-lasting consequences on the social representation of homosexuality in both countries.     

Hearing “That’s So Gay” and “No Homo” on Campus and Substance Use Among Sexual Minority College Students

ABSTRACT

Sexual orientation microaggressions are common on college campuses and can contribute to negative outcomes; yet little is known about their relationship with substance use outcomes. Among a convenience sample of cisgender sexual minority college students (n= 574; 57.0% female, 24.9% people of color, 50.7% gay/lesbian; 72.4% public school) from 37 states (67.8% Midwest), this analysis investigates the association between hearing “that’s so gay” and “no homo” on campus and hazardous alcohol use and the frequency of illicit drug use. Using multivariable regression analyses, the commonly heard phrases “that’s so gay” and “no homo” were each found to significantly increase the risk for hazardous drinking and the frequency of drug use among students. Efforts should be made to create more welcoming campus climates for sexual minority students by reducing the use of these microaggressions and, in the meantime, offering supports to mitigate their harmful effects.     

“Does the voice in your head get kinder as you get older?” Women’s perceptions of body image in midlife

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to identify attitudes and reactions toward physical changes in midlife women. A Facebook thread, presenting a series of comments related to an initial statement, instigated by a radio program was analyzed. The thread contained 87 responses to the question “Does the voice in your head get kinder as you get older?” Content analysis revealed positive (56%) and negative (40%) comments and four themes: physical changes with aging, the decreased importance of physical appearance, the importance of sociocultural influences, and the invisibility of women in midlife. Findings revealed both positive and negative body image experiences in women related to midlife and have implications for prevention.