Introduction to Sociology: Age

 

We shall discuss the social construction of age, and examine three approaches to understanding old age.

 

Introduction

- Harriet Bradley

Age is a sociological rather than a chronological phenomenon. ‘Life cycle’ refers to a biological process, a cognitive and physical development from childhood to old age. ‘Life course’ refers to social rites of passages, in which different roles (including work and leisure) are associated with childhood, youth, adolescence, middle-age and old age; social rules (including legal responsibilities for criminal activities) suggest what forms of behaviour suitable at each age group; and social meanings, expectations and activities (including sexual behaviour) change at each stage of life course.

 

Social construction of age

a) Different societies divide their members into age groups in different ways and assign roles to them that cannot be attributed to their biological abilities. Age has various age groups: youth, adolescence, young adults, mid-life and old age; the movement from one term to another is socially controlled, varies according to ethnicity, region and gender.

- e.g., female marriageable age varies across time and space - a current social trend of delaying the onset of young adulthood and marriage; and transition and movement from adolescence to young adulthood through rites of passages and initiation ceremonies (such as Jewish ceremony of Bar Mitzvah)

b) As we discussed in the lecture on ethnicity and ‘race’, categorising, classifying and counting age into different age groups is a way of managing and controlling the population. The classification of age groups represents a way of seeing and knowing the world, an 'organised perception', the 'gaze'. It is also a way of regulating the population through surveys and public policy, through say building schools and houses and calculating pension and welfare costs.

In effect, the social construction of age governs the population through bureacratic and legal administrative means (i.e., ‘governmentality'). For example,

          age 5: go to school

          age 7: withdraw money from a post-office

          age 10: be convicted of a criminal offence but not fined

          age 13: buy a pet, fireworks, and be employed for certain hours a week

          age 14: own an air rifle

          age 15: enter into some contracts

age 16: join a trade union, leave school, consent to heterosexual intercourse, and marry with parents' consent

age 17: drive a car, and engage in street trading

age 18: marry without parents' consent

age 19: join the police

age 21: sell alcohol with a licence

 

Understanding Age

a) Age is a dimension of inequality; a construction of social differences that brings different access to social resources (wealth, power and status). The middle-aged are the age elite; and youth and old aged are dependent on the former for economic resources.

b) ‘Ageism’ refers to a system of stereotyping groups of people and discriminating against them on the basis of characteristics and abilities, which are imputed to them simply because of their age. For example, old age are considered to be slow, not adaptable, less dynamic and hard to train; and the youth as reckless, unreliable, irresponsible and unstable.

c) Age (like 'race' and 'sexuality') is characterised as a social problem for three reasons:

i) ageing population has increased from 5% in 1900 to 20% in 2001; the old age community is becoming more visible and vocal, though they have not translated their numerical strength into political clout.

ii) increasing burden on the working population and a growing demand on the welfare state to pay for pension and other welfare costs.

iii) youth sub-cultures and the generation gap has created problems of social integration, such as social clashes of youth sub-cultures, such as punks, hippies and mods, and minority ethnic youths.

 

Experiencing Old Age

The older people’s disadvantaged position is reflected in their experience:

i) in 1985, 62% of pensioners were on low income; 35% of older women were living on/below the poverty line; and 36% of minority ethnic elderly people were living below poverty line;

ii) the older people experience greater health problems and isolation;

iii) they experience lower economic activity and income as they approach retirement and after;

iv) the older people’s experience is conditioned by living in a capitalist society where being ‘useful’ is measured by productive contribution to the economic national income; and

v) ideas of state welfare and family assistance are based on moral obligations to care for dependent others, and this conditions the experience of old age.

 

Approaches to explaining old age

Three key approaches to understanding old age experience:

i) Functionalism

- Cowgill & Holmes

This explains older people's experiences through their inability to form coherent functions in modern society. The industrial system has deprived older people of their function in society. They are unable to work and be employable because of the institution of retirement; and are unable to inform and communicate knowledge to the younger generation as mass education and information technology have replaced older people's function to pass on accumulated wisdom and traditions. Yet, the industrialised system has prolonged older people's lives though better health care.

 

 

ii) Political economy of age / dependency age

- Townsend and Phillipson

This explains old age experience by examining how divisions among older people (such as working class old people in Chatham and middle class old people in Canterbury) occur because of broader structures of inequalities of wealth and power that create an experience of helplessness and economic and psychological dependence.

‘Structured dependency' refers to how the older people are forced into dependency on the state for subsistence need because of the institution of retirement: pension at low level ('safety net') helping to legitimatise general low income in the society; problem of health and adequate care; and further assistance from the state required.

Institutional care is organised in such a way that denies self-determination and makes the old aged passive recipient of care service.

 

iii) Post-modern approach

- Mike Featherstone and Mike Hepworth

This is a positive approach to old age. It frees older people from the compulsion to act their age, so that there are successful older people (e.g., politicians and artists) and positive images of active and influential elder people.

Though, this positive approach is only applicable for members of an elite and wealthy class, who can transgress age-specific norms, and afford the costs of plastic surgery and lavish expenditure. Furthermore, there are limits to what can be constructed since the biological body matters.