Journal of Aging and Identity, Vol.3, No. 1, 1998
Modernity and Identity: Themes and Perspectives
in the Study of Older Adults
Chris Phillipson1
and Simon Biggs2
Developments in social gerontology have led to an increased awareness of the
relationship between political economy, culture, and personal narrative as
influences on social identity in later life. Central to this debate has been a
growing interest in lifestyle choice as evidence of a change from modern to
postmodern forms of aging. A key component of this process has been the
erosion of a predictable framework for an aging identity, previously supplied
by the welfare state. It is argued that, alongside the emergence of "no-care
zones" in health and welfare, postmodern ideas on consumerismand the body
have led to an assault on identity in old age.As a result, we may be seeing
the emergence of "no-identity zones" which fail to sustain an authentic
framework for supporting experiences in old age. A critical gerontology should
include the study of identity as central to understanding the disjunction between
aging from within and aging within society.
KEY WORDS: social gerontology; identity; retirement; welfare; modernity; postmodernity.
INTRODUCTION
During the 1990s, a number of elements emerged in the growing debate
about the nature of an aging society. First, the continuation of political
economy perspectives arose from the work of Estes (1979), Walker (1981),
Guillemard (1983), and others (see Minkler and Estes, 1991 and 1997;
Estes, 1993; Phillipson, forthcoming). Second, scholars such as Thomas
1
Centre for Social Gerontology, Department of Applied Social Studies, University of Keele,
Keele, Staffordshire, United Kingdom.
2
Correspondence should be directed to Chris Phillipson, Professor of Applied Social Studies
and Social Gerontology, Centre for Social Gerontology, Department of Applied Social
Studies, University of Keele, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom.
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12 Phillipson and Biggs
Cole, Harry Moody, Andrew Achenbaum, and others made important contributions
toward the consolidation of perspectives from the humanities.
Some key contributors in this tradition were brought together in a number
of volumes published in the early 1990s, combining the work of historians,
ethicists, and other scientists (see, especially, Cole, 1992; Cole, Van Tassell
and Kastenbaum, 1992; Cole et al., 1993; Schaie and Achenbaum, 1993;
Bengston and Achenbaum, 1993). A third influence has been that of biographical
and narrative perspectives in gerontology, building on the work
of Malcolm Johnson (1976) and Jaber Gubrium (1993). Advocates of this
biographical approach have contributed substantiallyto critical gerontology,
as well as extended the knowledge about the social construction of later
life (Ruth and Keynon, 1996).
Taken together, these intellectual trends may be seen as illustrating
the emergence of a critical as opposed to a traditional gerontology (Baars,
1991; Phillipson and Walker, 1987). The critical facets in this gerontology
center around a number of elements. From political economy, awareness
exists of the structural pressures and constraints affecting older people, with
divisions associated with class, gender, and ethnicity being emphasized
(Estes, 1993; Phillipson, forthcoming). From both a humanistic as well as
a biographically-orientated gerontology, concern exists over the absence of
meaning in the lives of older people and the sense of doubt and uncertainty
that seems to pervade their daily routines and relationships (Moody, 1992).
Finally, from all three perspectives comes a focus on empowering older
people through the transformation of society (for example, through the redistribution
of income and wealth) or the development of new rituals and
symbols to facilitate changes though the life course (Kaminksy, 1993).
Critical gerontology, in fact, draws on a variety of intellectual traditions
including: the Marxist critique of political economy; the Frankfurt School
(Adorno, Horkheimer, and Marcuse), and more recent researchers from
this tradition such as Jurgen Habermas (1972; Moody, 1992); psychoanalytic
perspectives (Biggs, 1997). Contemporary sociological theorists such
as Anthony Giddens (1991) and Ulrich Beck (1992) have also contributed
to this development. These different approaches challenge traditional perspectives
within gerontology and promote the development of an alternative
approach to understanding the process of growing old.
Central to the idea of a critical gerontology is the idea of aging as a
socially constructed event. With respect to political economy, this idea reflects
the role of elements such as the state and economy in influencing
the experience of aging. The humanities, on the other hand, emphasize the
role of the individual actively constructing his or her world, while biographical
approaches focus on an interplay between the self and society (Keynon,
1996). The idea of lives as socially constructed is perhaps the key theme