Pleasure is a neglected topic in ageing research, particularly when it comes to activities that are deemed as unhealthy and/or immoral, such as alcohol consumption. In this article, I explore the question how – that is, in which discursive-material practices and arrangements – alcohol is consumed throughout the retirement transition. To analyse alcohol consumption as a material-discursive practices, I draw on empirical material from a qualitative longitudinal study, comprising interview and photo diaries and following 30 older adults through their retirement transition. Based on this material, I discuss five categories of elements that constitute drinking practice assemblages: (1) things and spaces, (2) people, (3) temporalities, (4) discourses, and (5) bodies. Across those elements, research participants drew boundaries between positive, responsible and negative, irresponsible alcohol consumption. These boundaries, however, were different than those drawn by experts: While the latter tend to differentiate based on the quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption, the former draw boundaries based on quality, i.e. the “how” of alcohol consumption. I conclude by arguing how approaching alcohol consumption from a material gerontology perspective can enhance our understanding of alcohol consumption as “multiple” and an embedded, situated practice with blurry boundaries between problematic and pleasurable use.
By examining a verbatim theatre performance that brought together older (aged 60 and up) and younger (aged 18–25) adults, this article finds that staging intergenerational theatre generated intergenerational joy: a collective, interdependent experience not devoid of struggle and challenge that prioritizes the here and now while also envisaging more promising futures. The actors in this project thus challenged normative neoliberal attitudes that suggest that the old have nothing to offer the future, and that the young have little to offer the present. The stress involved in undertaking a community-based theatre project was not an obstacle but a gateway to joy, as it produced (and even demanded) a level of interdependence and solidarity not found in other intergenerational relationships commonly structured by hetero-normative family relations. Moreover, the play offered a structure through which actors could challenge societal norms that isolate generations from each other and encourage intergenerational antagonism.
Dominant narratives told about older people typically foreground the past and downplay the significance of the future. This reinforces a particular ageism that is predicated not so much on how many years a person has lived, as how many years they are assumed to have left. This article explores the potential of Forum Theatre to produce emancipatory counterstories of ageing futures. We present findings from qualitative research conducted with older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nine older adult participants co-created two Forum Theatre scenes (Waiting for Dot and Return to Wonderland), that were then shared and reworked virtually with a public audience of over 150. We argue that the participatory and inquiring techniques of Forum Theatre are useful in making visible how structural ageism operates in everyday discourses to marginalise, exclude and oppress people in later life, and to provide people with the opportunities to change the script by challenging such narratives and storying their own futures.
There is an imperative globally to respond to the challenge of a growing population of women in work who are living and working for longer, but have disproportionate impacts on their well-being in their older years compared to men. However, there is a paucity of evidence regarding the impact of various well-being issues related to women in this context. This review explores the barriers and facilitators to the workplace well-being of women over 40 years old. A systematic mapping review was conducted that yielded 956 results with 39 included papers using terms: barriers and facilitators to well-being, work and older women. The review highlights how the well-being of ageing women is shaped by dynamic interactions amongst work, family, health, and environment. These findings underscore the value of the Socio-Ecological Model in identifying gaps and informing multi-level, intersectional interventions that reflect the lived realities of ageing women.
Digitalization reforms have reshaped views on ideal citizenship, emphasizing individuals as proactive consumers of digital health services. This shift has introduced opportunities, but also new demands, especially for older adults who face a heightened risk of digital exclusion. In this article, we examine older adults’ experiences with digital health services in Finland. We ask the following: (1) How do older adults experience digital health services in daily life? and (2) How do older adults’ experiences with digital health services shed light on dimensions of digital citizenship? Based on thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews (n = 12) with older adults aged 68–80, digital engagement often unfolds along a spectrum shaped by emotional, social, and structural conditions. As a conceptual contribution, we introduce situational digital citizenship to capture the ways older adults participate selectively, under obligation, or with ambivalence while negotiating societal expectations. This perspective highlights digital inclusion as a dynamic process, not as a fixed outcome.
