Abstract

The common stereotype of elderly men whiling their time away on park benches illustrates the important concept of “public social spaces,” that is, places which act as support systems serving to anchor a person's identity and providing physical and/or emotional support. This paper examines the usage of public places by a different segment of the population—elderly females in an urban setting. Eight ladies' restroom lounges in four large department stores and the elderly women spending time there were observed in a northern midwestern city. The findings suggest that for these elderly ladies, the restroom lounges were serving as public social spaces. The physical character of those lounges, their social context, and patterns of use by various females were examined.

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