Leisure and resistance in an ageing society

Stereotypes of Aging: Their Effects on the Health of Older Adults

“…To complicate and extend these findings, however, other studies have shown that explicit positive aging stereotypes can have constraining effects on older people's attitudes and health behavior and that negative aging stereotypes can be resisted by older adults resulting in enabling effects such as feelings of personal empowerment and associated health benefits [8,15,22,23].…”

“…Highly active older adults have been shown to express a desire to maintain physical and mental activity to avoid becoming "old" as they stereotypically understand it (i.e., frail, dependent on others, and diseased) [4,8]. On one hand, this finding represents an active resistance to aging stereotypes, which can be personally empowering, but on the other hand it reinforces ageism and the individual (and cultural) fear of ill health in old age by positioning ill health in old age as undesirable or irrational, rather than a natural process [4,23].…”

Homes away from home: Registered clubs as leisure providers for older people living in the Tweed Heads region of Australia

“…Older people' s contributions to society via child care, voluntary work, and participation in cultural pursuits are now well documented (Kelly & Freysinger, 2000;Tanner 2007). Ideas regarding suitable policies and programs for older people have already started to shift; for example, Wearing (1995) noted that the development of masters (or veterans) events in swimming and athletics and the accomplishments of some older participants had undercut the traditional therapeutic approach to sports activities. Leitner & Leitner (2004: 17) Increasing interest in leisure can also be predicted on the basis of research findings suggesting that leisure participation has the potential to bring physiological, psychological, social, and emotional benefits to people in all age brackets.…”

“…Although these questions cannot be answered decisively, it is reasonable to surmise that the provision of leisure activities for older adults will become an increasingly important area for research and policy innovation, not only by federal and state governments but by private entrepreneurs. As commentators such as Wearing (1995) and Carrigan (1998) have pointed out, the development of leisure opportunities and services for the aged is economically and culturally important in consumer-driven societies where the traditional youth market is shrinking and many older people have a considerable amount of 'free or un-obligated time' when obligatory duties such as paid work are not being performed (Mannell & Kleiber, 1997;Leitner & Leitner, 2004: 3). There are many opportunities for industries dealing with financial and home services, the arts and entertainment, sports, travel, and technology; however, personnel within these industries will need to think carefully about the nature of the emerging 'grey market' if they are to avoid making the mistakes of the past (Semon, 1995).…”

“We Wanted a Birth Experience, not a Medical Experience”: Exploring Canadian Women's Use of Midwifery

“…which allows for the view that women are social actors who perceive and interpret social situations and actively determine, in each setting, how they will respond" (Shaw, 1994, p. 15); and, second, the notion of relatively free choice. That is, two key characteristics of resistance, personal choice and self-determination, have been associated with resistance to traditionally prescribed gender identities, stereotypes, and roles by enabling women to exert personal control and power (Shaw, 2001;Wearing, 1990Wearing, , 1995. Shaw (2001) explained, "An important aspect of resistance .…”