‘An elephant cannot fail to carry its own ivory’: Transgenerational ambivalence, infrastructure and sibling support practices in urban Uganda

Abstract

This is a repository copy of 'An elephant cannot fail to carry its own ivory': Transgenerational ambivalence, infrastructure and sibling support practices in urban Uganda.

“The interpersonal is political”: Understanding the sociological ambivalence created in parent and adult offspring cohabiting relationships

“…On the other, they felt cohabitating blocked them from pursuing the privileges of retirement that their generation had come to expect, such as travel. The weight of social expectation and the parental sense of duty made accepting intergenerational cohabitation a “choice‐less choice” (McQuaid et al, 2019, p. 5).…”

“…However, agency should not be reduced to free choice because self‐interest is often mediated by structural expectations. For example, McQuaid et al's (2019) study of cohabitation suggests that a strong sense of familial duty compelled parents to help their offspring and sacrifice their own interests. This sense of duty made cohabitation a “choice‐less choice” because the social construction of parenthood left no alternative to providing residential support (McQuaid et al, 2019, p. 5).…”

“…For example, McQuaid et al's (2019) study of cohabitation suggests that a strong sense of familial duty compelled parents to help their offspring and sacrifice their own interests. This sense of duty made cohabitation a “choice‐less choice” because the social construction of parenthood left no alternative to providing residential support (McQuaid et al, 2019, p. 5). The third and fourth premises of Connidis and McMullin's critical theory framework are that families should be understood as produced and negotiated through continued interactions, and that family dynamics are the product of conflicting interests.…”

Navigating old age and the urban terrain: Geographies of ageing from Africa

“…As Aboderin (2012: 72) has argued, 'through their roles and the way they execute them, older people directly influence younger generations' capability for, and perspectives on, economic engagement', fostering forms of 'intergenerational intelligence', which can help fulfil vital socio-economic needs, especially at times of crisis or change. Older people, therefore, often occupy active roles within webs of contingent and situated transgenerational caring relations, which may be tested in ruptured urban contexts (McQuaid et al, 2018). For instance, within urban households these intergenerational care responsibilities are increasingly shaped by the extensive co-residence of older adults with younger generations through 'intimately-shared physical and social space' (Aboderin et al, 2017: 10).…”

Care as a many‐splendoured topology (including prickles)

“…In this culture and community, transgenerational responsibilities of care are distributed rather differently from many Western societies (cf. McQuaid et al., ). Even if structured along certain familial and communal roles, she deems “caring … [as] a fraught process involving the management of multiple, sometimes conflicting, responsibilities” (p. 247).…”