Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review 2010, 46(2): 211-234 | DOI: 10.13060/00380288.2010.46.2.02

Construction of the Idea of Active Ageing in Centres for Seniors

Jaroslava Hasmanová Marhánková
Fakulta filozofická Západočeské univerzity v Plzni

Current demographic trends are calling forth the need to redefine the meaning of old age and its place in society. The concept of active ageing can be seen as a reaction to these efforts to reconceptualise life in old age. This article first briefly describes the context that gave rise to the term 'active ageing' and how this concept is framed as 'ageing well' in national and international documents and in the discourse of gerontology. Based on ethnographic studies of two centres offering leisure activities for seniors (mainly using participant observation and in-depth and informal interviews with clients and employees), the article shows 1) how the idea of active ageing and generally of being active as an desirable or undesirable lifestyle in old age is constructed in the framework of the centre's general operations, and 2) how the clients themselves relate to this idea. The objective of the article is to reveal the significance of active ageing in the formation of a normative image of 'ageing well', which on the one hand helps seniors break away from stereotypical notions of ageing, but on the other hand generates new inequalities based on the ability or willingness to 'age actively'.

Keywords: active ageing discourse; activity; ageing; ethnography; leisure; lifestyle in old age.

Published: April 1, 2010  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Hasmanová Marhánková, J. (2010). Construction of the Idea of Active Ageing in Centres for Seniors. Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review, 46(2), 211-234. doi: 10.13060/00380288.2010.46.2.02
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. "Active Aging. A Policy Framework." 2002. [online] Geneva: World Health Organization [cit. 15. 10. 2009]. Dostupné z: <www.who.int/ageing/publications/active/en/index. htmlhttp:/ /whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2002/WHO_NMH_NPH_02.8.pdf>.
    2. Andrews, Molly. 1999. "The Seductiveness of Agelessness." Ageing and Society 19 (3): 301-318. Go to original source...
    3. Asquith, Nicole. 2009. "Positive Ageing, Neoliberalism and Australian Sociology." Journal of Sociology 45 (3): 255-269. Go to original source...
    4. Bass, Scott A., Francis G. Caro. 2001. "Productive Aging. A Conceptual Framework." Pp. 37-81 in Nancy Morrow-Howell, James Hinterlong, Michael Sherraden (eds.). Productive Aging. Concepts and Challenges. Baltimore, London: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
    5. Biggs, Simon. 1993. Understanding Ageing: Images, Attitudes and Professional Practice. Buckingham, Bristol, PA: Open University Press.
    6. Biggs, Simon. 2001. "Towards Critical Narrativity. Stories of Aging in Contemporary Social Policy." Journal of Aging Studies 15 (4): 303-316. Go to original source...
    7. Calasanti, Tony M., Kathleen F. Slevin. 2001. Gender, Social Inequalities, and Ageing. Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press.
    8. Calasanti, Tony M., Kathleen F. Slevin, Neal King. 2006. "Ageism and Feminism: From 'Et Cetera' to Center." NWSA Journal 18 (1): 13-30. Go to original source...
    9. Coupland, Justine. 2007. "Gendered Discourses on the 'Problem' of Ageing: Consumerized Solutions." Discourse and Communication 1 (1): 37- 61. Go to original source...
    10. Daatland, Svein Olaf. 2005. "Quality of Life and Ageing." Pp. 371-377 in Malcolm Johnson, Vern L. Bergtson, Peter G. Coleman, Thomas B. L. Kirkwood (eds.). The Cambridge Handbook of Age and Ageing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Go to original source...
    11. Degnen, Cathrine. 2007. "Minding the Gap: The Construction of Old Age and Oldness amongst Peers." Journal of Aging Studies 21 (1): 69-80. Go to original source...
    12. Faircloth, Christopher A. 2001. "'Those People' and Troubles Talk. Social Typing and Community Construction in Senior Public Housing." Journal of Aging Studies 15 (4): 333-350. Go to original source...
    13. Featherstone, Mike, Mike Hepworth. 1995. "Images of Positive Aging. A Case Study of Retirement Choice Magazine" Pp. 29-47 in Mike Featherstone, Andrew Wernick (eds.). Images of Aging. Cultural Representations of Later Life. London, New York: Routledge. Go to original source...
    14. Gilleard, Christopher, Paul Higgs. 2000. Cultures of Ageing. Self, Citizenship and the Body. Harlow: Pearson Education.
    15. Gubrium, Jaber F., J. Brandon Wallace. 1990. "Who Theorises Age?" Ageing and Society 10 (2): 131-149. Go to original source...
    16. Hazan, Haim. 1994. Old Age: Constructions and Deconstructions. Cambridge, New York, Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. Go to original source...
    17. Hendricks, Jon, Laurie Russell Hatch. 2006. "Lifestyle and Aging." Pp. 301-319 in Robert H. Binstock, Linda K. George, Stephen J. Cutler, Jon Hendricks, James H. Schulz (eds.). Handbook of Aging and the Social Science. London: Academic Press. Go to original source...
    18. Hepworth, Mike. 1995. "Positive Ageing. What Is the Message?" Pp. 176-190 in Robin Bunton, Sarah Nettleton, Roger Burrows (eds.). The Sociology of Health Promotion: Critical Analysis of Consumption, Lifestyle and Risk. Oxon, New York: Routledge. Go to original source...
    19. Higgs, Paul, Ian Rees Jones. 2009. Medical Sociology and Old Age. Towards a Sociology of Health in Later Life. London: Routledge. Go to original source...
    20. Holstein, Martha B., Meredith Minkler. 2003. "Self, Society and the 'New Gerontology'." The Gerontologist 43 (6): 787-796. Go to original source...
    21. Hurd, Laura C. 1999. "'We're Not Old!': Older Women's Negotiation of Aging and Oldness." Journal of Ageing Studies 13 (4): 419-439. Go to original source...
    22. Jolanki, Outi, Marja Jylhaä, Antti Hervonen. 2000. "Old Age as a Choice and as a Necessity. Two Interpretative Repertoires." Journal of Aging Studies 14 (4): 359-372. Go to original source...
    23. Jones, Rebecca L. 2006. "'Older People' Talking as if They We Are not Older People: Positioning Theory as an Explanation." Journal of Ageing Studies 20 (1): 79-91. Go to original source...
    24. Katz, Stepheen. 1996. Disciplining Old Age. London: University Press of Virginia.
    25. Katz, Stephen. 2000. "Busy Bodies: Activity, Ageing and the Management of the Everyday Life." Journal of Ageing Studies 14 (2): 135-152. Go to original source...
    26. Katz, Stephen. 2001-2002. "Growing Older Without Aging? Positive Aging, Anti-Ageism, and Anti-Aging." Generations 25 (4): 27-32.
    27. Katz, Stephen, Barbara Marshall. 2003. "New Sex for Old: Lifestyle, Consumerism and the Ethics of Aging Well." Journal of Aging Studies 17 (1): 3-16. Go to original source...
    28. Kessler, Eva-Marie, Kathrin Rakoczy, Ursula M. Staudinger. 2004. "The Portrayal of Older People in Prime Time Television Series: the Match with Gerontological Evidence." Ageing and Society 24 (4): 531-552. Go to original source...
    29. Menec, Verona H., Judith G. Chipperfield. 1997. "Remaining Active in Later Life: The Role of Locus of Control in Seniors' Leisure Activity Participation, Health, and Life Satisfaction." Journal of Aging and Health 9 (1): 105-125. Go to original source...
    30. Minichiello, Victor, Margaret Somerville, Cathryn McConaghy, Jenny McParlane, Alan Scott. 2005. "The Challenges of Ageism." Pp. 1-33 in Victor Minichiello, Irene Coulson (eds.). Contemporary Issues in Gerontology. Promoting Positive Ageing. St. Leonards: Allen and Unwin.
    31. Moody, Harry R. 2001. "Productive Aging and the Ideology of Old Age." Pp. 175-194 in Nancy Morrow-Howell, James Hinterlong, Michael Wayne Sherraden (eds.). Productive Aging. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.
    32. Moody, Harry R. 2005. "From Successful Aging to Consciousness Aging." Pp. 55-69 in May L. Wykle, Peter J. Whitehouse, Diana L. Morris (eds.). Successful Aging Through the Life Spam. New York: Springer. "Národní program přípravy na stárnutí na období let 2008 až 2012 (Kvalita života ve stáří)." 2008. [online]. Praha: Ministerstvo práce a sociálních věcí [cit. 25. 5. 2009]. Dostupné z: <http://www.mpsv.cz/cs/5045>.
    33. Nimrod, Galit, Hanna Adoni. 2006. "Leisure-styles and Life Satisfaction among Recent Retirees in Israel." Aging & Society 26 (4): 607-630. Go to original source...
    34. Neilson, Brett. 2006. "Anti-ageing Cultures, Biopolitics and Globalisation." Cultural Studies Review 12 (2): 149-1648. "New Paradigms in Ageing Societies." 1999. [online] Brussels: The European Commission [cit. 24. 3. 2009]. Dostupné z: <http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/soc-prot/ageing/news/paradigm_en.htm>.
    35. Punch, Maurice. 1986. The Politics and Ethics of Fieldwork. London: Sage.
    36. Rabušic, Ladislav. 2008. "Senioři a jejich vzdělávání." Pp. 265-287 in Milada Rabušicová, Ladislav Rabušic (eds.). Učíme se po celý život? O vzdělávání dospělých v České republice. Brno: Masarykova univerzita.
    37. Rowe, John W., Robert L. Kahn. 1997. "Successful Aging." The Gerontologist 37 (4): 433-440. Go to original source...
    38. Sýkorová, Dana. 2007a. Autonomie ve stáří. Kapitoly z gerontosociologie. Praha: Sociologicé nakladatelství.
    39. Sýkorová, Dana. 2007b. "Senioři a význam generace." Sociální studia (4) 1-2: 131-157. Go to original source...
    40. Šafr, Jiří. 2008. Životní styl a sociální třídy: vytváření symbolické kulturní hranice diferenciací vkusu a spotřeby. Praha: Sociologický ústav AV ČR, v.v.i.
    41. Townsend, Jean, Mary Godfrey, Tracy Denby. 2006. "Heroines, Villains and Victims: Older People's Perception of Others." Ageing and Society 26: 883-900. Go to original source...
    42. Tulle-Winton, Emmanuelle. 1999. "Growing Old and Resistance: Towards a New Cultural Economy of Old Age?" Ageing and Society 19: 281-299. Go to original source...
    43. Tulle, Emmanuelle. 2008. Ageing, The Body and Social Change. Basingstoke, New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Go to original source...
    44. Vidovićová, Lucie. 2008. Stárnutí, věk a diskriminace - nové souvislosti. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, Mezinárodní politologický ústav Masarykovy univerzity. "Výroční zpráva za rok 2007." 2008. [online] Praha: Život 90 [cit. 27. 3. 2009]. Dostupné z: <http://www.zivot90.cz/uploads/document/76.pdf>.
    45. Wang, Hui-Xin, Anita Karp, Bengt Winblad, Laura Fratiglioni. 2002. "Late-Life Engagement in Social and Leisure Activities is Associated with a Decreased Risk of Dementia: A Longitudinal Study from the Kungsholmen Project." American Journal of Epidemiology 155 (12): 1081-1087. Go to original source...
    46. Wearing, Betsy. 1995. "Leisure and Resistance in an Ageing Society." Leisure Studies 14 (4): 263-279. Go to original source...
    47. Wray, Sharon. 2003. "Connecting Ethnicity, Agency and Ageing." Sociological Research Online [online] 8 (4) [cit. 31. 3. 2010]. Dostupné z: <http://www.socresonline.org.uk/8/4/wray.html>. Go to original source...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content