Leituras de género e feministas interseccionais: histórias de vida de mulheres 65+ de Alagoas

Abstract

Following the global trend, in Brazil there is a demographic growth of the older population. In this age group, there is a predominance of women. Gender and age are fundamental dimensions of the analysis of social life and express basic relationships through which subjectivities, identities and trajectories are (between) weaved. This research aims to investigate and understand the elements that underlie a gender analysis in the aging process. For this, individual semi-structured interviews were carried out with 7 women aged between 68 and 79 years, residents of the Brazilian state of Alagoas. The interviews had a semi-structured script and were recorded via videoconference using the ZOOM platform. The data were subjected to thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), from which six main themes and ten subthemes were built, having as central organizer Gender Perspectives in Aging Analysis, which originated the following structure: the Professional Trajectory theme it is subdivided into: Professional Occupation and Retirement; the Family Relations theme contains two sub-themes: Restrictions on the Belonging Family and Support Network in Old Age; the theme Self-Image and the View of Others, covers: Social Stereotypes and Self-Perception; the theme The Feelings of Aging was not subdivided; the theme Age Ratings and Assigned Values has two sub-themes: Intergenerational Dialogue and The Image of Youth; and the theme (No) Identification with the Feminist Movement involves: Specific Agendas for Older Women and Lack of Representation in the Public Sphere. The analysis showed that the passage of women to old age is marked by a series of events associated with losses, such as abandonment by children, widowhood, a set of physical transformations and the disintegration of society. It was observed that the increase in life expectancy is an advance, but it has also translated into danger, risk and threat to the reproduction of social life, especially for women. Finally, the limitations of this investigation are presented, as well as some suggestions for future studies.