Citation

Radtke HL, Young J, van Mens-Verhulst J. Women Ther. 2016; 39(1-2): 86-105.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/02703149.2016.1116321

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The "Third Age" offers a conceptualization of the lives of those who are retired and beyond middle age but not facing any disability stereotypically associated with the "old." Emphasizing good health, freedom from the responsibilities of younger adulthood, and continuing engagement with the world, it articulates a specific form of positive aging that has received very little attention within psychology. We adopted a feminist and critical discursive approach in exploring how eight women, who fit the Third Age profile, understand their lives and who they are. Audiotaped semi-structured interviews were transcribed and analyzed. The participants drew on four pairs of interpretative repertoires in constructing the meanings of aging. Their identity work involved positioning themselves as "not old" and establishing continuity between who they have been in the past and who they are now. The results highlight the women's agency as they negotiated between the discursive resources available to them. Drawing on a framework for feminist therapy that incorporates an emphasis on social change, we discuss the implications of these results.

Keywords

women; discourse analysis; age identity; third age