Decoding the Cultural Stereotypes About Aging : New Perspectives on Aging Talk and Aging Issues

ISBN-13: 9780815330233 / Angielski / Twarda / 1997 / 140 str.

Evelyn M. O'Reilly

Opis

This collection will present works that offer illuminating perspectives on the remarkably diverse Asian American populations of the United States. As a population that is neither black nor white, the range of experiences of these groups, many of whom arrived as refugees, presents other perspectives on the cultural mosaic that constitutes the United States. Studies of Asian Americans sheds light on issues related to immigration, refugee policy, transnationalism, return migration, cultural citizenship, ethnic communities, community building, identity and group formation, panethnicity, race relations, gender and class, entrepreneurship, employment, representation, politics, adaptation, and acculturation. The writings in this collection are drawn from a wide variety of disciplines to provide a broad and informative array of insights on these fascinating and diverse populations.

Unique focuses on perceptions

This study focuses on the discourse of aging. Its premise is that aging is a label, a symbol, and a myth of cultural stereotypes that is part of the condition of growing old in American society. One of the main goals of the research was to identify some features of aging talk, on the theory that aging is a world of cultural meaning. This book explores the language that governs the myth of aging, including ageism, age grading, senility, and functional aging, as well as the properties of this myth, the occasions when the myth creates tension, and its mode of expression. The study is unique because it addresses conceptions of aging rather than behaviors. The author interviewed people in the community, used participant observation, and analyzed media texts.

Aging as a function of lossof independence

The study found that aging is more closely associated with a loss of independence than with chronological age in American society. Independence is associated with certain forms of behavior related to family and financial status. The ways in which tensions are created and their expressed is tied in with the structural aspects that shape patterns of independence and their link to other variables, such as health and activity. The author finds that aging does not occur at a precise time and in precise categories, but rather through a shift in behavior. This shift is generally manifested by a deviation in the health status of the individual. It was found that labels indirectly affect health teams' image of the aging individual, which can lead to an inadequate assessment of their clients' needs.

Spis treści

Chapter 1 Introduction; Chapter 2 Literature Review and Theoretical Framework; Chapter 3 Methodology; Chapter 4 Aging in the Media and Other Places; Chapter 5 The Language Of Aging; Chapter 6 Dialogue with an 83 Year Old Woman; Chapter 7 Dialogue with a 92 Year Old Woman; Chapter 8 Aging in an Adult Community Residence; Chapter 9 The Dilemma of a Nursing Home Admission; Chapter 10 Patterns of Aging; Chapter 11 Epilogue: Recurring Threads;

O autorze

Evelyn M. O'Reilly