‘In a hospital bed or … out doing Indiana Jones’: older Irish men's negotiations of cultural representations of ageing

Margaret O'Neill,Áine Ní Léime

doi:10.1017/s0144686x22000058

Abstract

AbstractThere is a growing body of interdisciplinary literature on the representation and construction of ageing masculinities; however, there is a lack of specific analysis of older men's responses to cultural images of ageing. It is important to examine how cultural meanings around ageing may inform older men's lived experiences, an underexplored aspect of gender and social relations. This article does so and contributes to social gerontology and masculinity studies. It draws on focus group discussions and follow-up interviews or reflective diaries with seven men aged 65–73 years, varying in terms of relationship status and sexual orientation. The research forms part of an international study. It discusses the initial thematic findings, interpreted with reference to literature on ageing in culture and society, and hegemonic masculinities. The analysis identifies five primary themes: underrepresentation and stereotyping in media; diminishment of family role; transition from work to retirement; agency as opposed to confinement; and ageing as engaged and autonomous, illustrating some of the issues involved in the fluidity of masculinity over a lifetime. It highlights how representation can inform perceptions and experiences of growing older, and shows shifting masculine identities that negotiate hegemonic expectations as well as discourses about ageing. This study demonstrates how the participants’ modifications of hegemonic masculine and ageing identity interrogate and broaden these discourses, and opens avenues for future investigation.

Highlights

We consider how older men in Ireland respond to visual representations of their counterparts in television and film, asking whether and to what extent is participants’ experience of gendered ageing informed by such cultural narratives, and how do they negotiate this on an individual level? Considering that men’s social power may change as they grow older in ways that can inform their positioning in relation to hegemonic masculinity, we further consider how this incongruity may inform their lives, and whether and to what extent they maintain continuity with dominant scripts of masculinity
While Ging (2005), stressing that media literacy is not synonymous with the ability to deconstruct ideologies, finds scant evidence that boys in Ireland enact their media usage in ways that challenge hegemonic masculinity, the men in the current study demonstrated some evidence in this regard, criticising or avoiding normative images in favour of nuanced representations, suggesting how age enables the transgression of gender boundaries
This study has explored how television and film representations of older men in Ireland, as they inform social perceptions, play a significant but overlooked role in men’s negotiated performances of hegemonic masculinity over time

Summary

Introduction

In Ireland, 13.8 per cent of the population are aged 65 years and over and this figure is expected to increase in the future (Central Intelligence Agency, 2020). Older men are frequent consumers of television (Van Der Goot et al, 2012), yet there are few studies focusing on their interpretation and response to images of ageing in this arena.

Literature review

Methodology

Discussion

Findings

Limitations

Conclusion