Midlife Women's Political Consciousness: Case Studies of Psychosocial Development and Political Commitment

Abstract

Midlife women's political consciousness may be importantly influenced by a preoccupation with generativity. Analysis of three case studies suggests the importance of several elements for a developmental perspective on women's (and perhaps men's) midlife political activity: childhood family political ideology; earlier adolescent and adult political activity; influences of particular social and historical events at different developmental stages; a desire to be generative or to “make a contribution”; experiences as a parent; and access at midlife to time, energy, and personal resources. In addition, the importance of defining “political activity” broadly, and in the terms meaningful to women themselves, is underlined. finally, the satisfaction associated with recognizing the continuity in one's life commitments must be appreciated as one element of women's midlife political consciousness.

Kin keepers and good providers: Influence of gender socialization on well-being among USA birth cohorts

“…Family structure was changing with the availability of the birth control pill and Betty Friedan's (1963) best selling book, Feminine Mystique pinpointed the isolation women often felt with full-time household and child care duties. Recent qualitative research found mid-life Baby Boom women still have a strong desire to make a contribution in life, but full-time homemaker status was not viewed as a vehicle toward that end (Stewart & Gold-Steinberg, 1990).…”

Generativity in multiple roles

“…For example, McAdams and de St. Aubin (1992) have distinguished generative concern from commitment and behavior, recognizing that generative goals may be distinct from generative action. Stewart and Gold-Steinberg (1990) discussed the "breadth of experiential worlds" in their qualitative study of three politically generative women. Van de Water and McAdams (1989) established a link between life commitments and global generativity.…”

The Challenge of Adversity: Three Narratives of Alcohol Dependence, Recovery, and Adult Development

“…Researchers have used these methods to examine the turning point in a drinking career, the choice of self-help method, the process of recovery from alcohol abuse, and personal narratives presented in AA (Brown, 1985;Hanninen & Koski-Jannes, 1999;Kaskutas, 1989Kaskutas, , 1996Steffen, 1997). Applications of the overall method to Erikson's (1963) theory include McAdams's life story approach to identity and generativity, Josselson's (1987Josselson's ( , 1996 narrative accounts of adult identity development, and the case history analyses of Snarey, Stewart, Franz, Peterson, and collaborators (e.g., Franz & Stewart, 1994;Peterson, 1998;Peterson & Stewart, 1990;Snarey, 1993;Snarey & Clark, 1998;Stewart & Gold-Steinberg, 1990). We know of no research that uses narrative techniques to understand alcohol recovery within Eriksonian psychosocial development.…”