Beyond Stereotypes: Talent, Resources and Social Activity among the Postmodern Elderly
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Abstract
Desirable proposals in terms of active ageing are constrained by the heterogeneous conditions of elderly people, often affected by inequalities and social frailty. Added to this, elderly people are frequently limited by homogenising representations, reproducing a sense of non-productivity and marginalisation according to an obsolete industrial model of the life cycle. However, it has to be highlighted that among elderly people it is often possible to observe the emersion of ‘social talent’, performed through activeness in different forms of civic engagement. This paper aims to highlight the determinants of social activity behind the deep versatilities of old age through the results of quanti-qualitative research conducted in Genoa, an Italian town with a high ageing index. By identifying the interactions of multiple indicators, regarding value systems, socioeconomic conditions and different lifestyles of elderly people, the importance of social activity and its determinant predictors among elderly people are highlighted: rethinking their role in contemporary society, enlarging their horizons of capabilities and opportunities and overcoming latent homogenising stereotypes through the promotion of an effective path of active citizenship.
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