Leisure in Later Life (Leisure Studies in a Global Era)

Description

This book analyses leisure choice as a complex concept, made more complicated in later life than at any other time. The author posits that there are many unanswered questions about the new booming generation of healthy, older people, and this book asks what it is really like to be old at the beginning of the 21st century in the United Kingdom, analysing leisure in older people in the context of the subtle politics of the day to day. Throughout the chapters, the author highlights the often missing depictions of older people who enjoy and enact bold, informed agency as part of their everyday lives. Drawing upon secondary data from the Mass Observation Archive, a social thesis of leisure and ageing emerges that challenges the individualism inherent in ‘active ageing.’ It is proposed that the idea of ‘active ageing’ creates complex constraints to leisure as people strive to measure up to cultural expectations. The stories in this book advocate for an appreciation and re-evaluation of passive leisure in later life, and the enjoyment and freedom it can bring. The project is therefore useful to students and researchers of leisure studies, gerontology and sociology of ageing. Preface: Clearing the Ground References Acknowledgements Archive Materials Contents List of Figures List of Tables 1 Introduction to a New Ageing Population 1.1 New Ageing Population 1.2 They Do Not Really Plan Old Age, but It Happens Anyway 1.3 Good and Bad Leisure in Later Life 1.4 Active Ageing 1.5 Life Course Perspective References 2 Constraints to Leisure in a Healthy Later Life 2.1 Development of Leisure Constraints Research 2.2 Leisure Constraints in Later Life Research 2.3 Culture in Leisure Constraints Research 2.4 Conclusions References 3 Investigating Private Leisure Lives 3.1 Narrative Inquiry 3.2 Reflexivity 3.3 Sustainable Research Methods 3.4 The Mass Observation Archive 3.5 Respecting the Genesis of the Data 3.6 Strengths and Limitations of the Mass Observation Archive as the Resource for This Research 3.7 Ethical Considerations References 4 Navigating Archives, Going Native and Falling in Love with 26 New People 4.1 Choosing Suitable Materials to Analyse 4.2 Participant Selection 4.3 Introducing the Correspondents 4.4 Getting to Know Them a Little Better 4.4.1 Overview 4.5 Thematic Analysis of Narrative References 5 Negotiating Leisure Lives in a Culture of Active Ageing 5.1 Windows on the World 5.1.1 A Pleasant Couple of Hours in Good Company 5.1.2 Other People’s Fun 5.1.3 Reminiscence Was a Joy 5.1.3.1 I Was Honoured 5.2 No Great Virtue in All This Active Ageing 5.3 His Lordship Goes off to Work 5.3.1 A Balance Is Struck 5.3.2 Discord as Work Trumps Leisure 5.4 Other Old People: ‘Active Wife’ to ‘Intrepid Courageous Lady’ 5.5 A Social Thesis of Leisure in Later Life References 6 Freedom and Belonging in Everyday Leisure Lives 6.1 The Correspondents 6.2 Windows on the World 6.3 A Pleasant Couple of Hours in Good Company 6.4 Other People’s Fun 6.5 Reminiscence Was a Joy 6.6 I Was Honoured 6.7 No Great Virtue in All This Active Ageing 6.8 Active Ageing 6.9 Impact of Health Promotion on Health Advice 6.10 Work and Leisure 6.11 Disengagement and Active Ageing References 7 A Social Thesis of Leisure 7.1 Findings 7.1.1 Windows on the World 7.1.2 No Great Virtue… 7.1.3 His Lordship Goes Off to Work 7.1.4 Other Old People 7.2 Analytical Findings 7.3 Contribution to Knowledge 7.4 Plans for Further Research 7.5 Further Research Suggestions References Index