Centre for Policy on Ageing



Hidden in the household — now it's men in mid-life
Author(s)	Susan A McDaniel
Journal title	Ageing International, vol 28, no 4, Fall 2003
Pages	pp 326-344
Keywords	Older men ; Middle aged ; Unemployment ; Attitude ; Canada.
Annotation	The meaning of gender as we age has been changing, for example in terms of relationships and senses of self or identity. This paper examines such changes as they affect white-collar men in midlife who have experienced involuntary job loss long before expectable retirement age. Through the self-reported experiences and reflections of a group of suddenly unemployed, not yet pensionable Canadian men, insights are offered on masculinity in flux. Men were interviewed both in groups and individually. Analysis of the in-depth interview data is set in the context of shifting patterns of work and life course contingencies by gender and age as rapid socioeconomic restructuring occurs. Themes that emerge are: profound shifts in self-identities as men; in the concept of masculinity itself and as self-defining; a deep uncertainty about masculinity; and a clear preference to hide from the new realities, often, paradoxically, at home. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-041202202 A
Classmark	BC: SE: WH6: DP: 7S
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing

...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.