Suchergebnisse

"What happens when angry young rebels become wary older women, ageing in a leaner, meaner time: a time which exalts only the 'new', in a ruling orthodoxy daily disparaging all it portrays as the 'old'? Delving into her own life and those of others who left their mark on it, Lynne Segal tracks through time to consider her generation of female dreamers, what formed them, how they left their mark on the world, where they are now in times when pessimism seems never far from what remains of public life. Searching for answers, she studies her family history, sexual awakening, ethnic belonging, as well as the peculiarities of the time and place that shaped her own political journeys, with all their urgency, significance, pleasures and absurdities."--Publisher description

In this revised classic text, Segal's overview of theories of masculinity considers continuities and change in hegemonic notions of masculinity and focuses on competing male identities, exemplified in black, ethnic, gay and anti-sexist groups. The contrast in power and privilege across these groups has led many to speak of 'masculinity in crisis'.

Despite an ever-greater interest in mothering over the decade since 2009, it seems clear that accounts of maternal experiences today still routinely express fears of failure and chronic frustration. I connect this with time constraints arising from the long hours of paid work most mothers are now performing, alongside ongoing welfare cuts generally and the privatisation or outsourcing of public resources – especially since 2010. This tells me that caretaking generally, and mothering in particular, can never be decisively separated from the broader political arena. On the contrary, we need to place reproductive politics, and what is now recognised as a general 'crisis of care', at the very heart of politics. Thus, I conclude that the only way forward is to replace the long outdated, traditional notion of the male breadwinner, now superseded by the realities of the universal breadwinner, with genuine support for a notion of the universal caregiver. This would ensure policies attempting to provide everyone with the time and resources necessary to care for their own dependent children, if they are parents, or to support others who depend on them for care, alongside possibilities for maintaining community life and engaging in the preservation of the world itself.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to highlight the stigma surrounding old age, which in many ways has increased rather than decreased with the ageing of the population.Design/methodology/approach– The approach of this paper is to introduce the reader to recent writing and research surrounding talk of a "demograhic time bomb", with the ageing of populations world wide. It also looks back on the work on "ageing studies" over the last two decades, revealing the prevailing disavowals of old age among the old themselves, as well as the contrasting gendered dynamics of the ways in which we are, as Margaret Gullette writes, "aged by culture".Findings–The author introduces the conceptual notion of "temporal vertigo" to the complicated effects of the multiplicity of continuities and discontinuities older people experience when reflecting upon who they are over a lifetime. Ageing is of interest for those who have always been sceptical about any notion of the "true self", allowing us to puzzle over how the account the old give of themselves will rely upon their ability to incorporate differing versions of the self, woven into the volatilities of memory and fantasy.Originality/value– The paper's exploration of the radical ambiguities in the representation and discussions surrounding old age in these times.