Resources
Books on Diversity in Aging
What will your later years be like? That will depend on whether you’re a woman or a man and on your race or ethnic group. Your socioeconomic status and sexual preference will also be important. The following brain-rattling books explore the diversity of aging.
Age Through Ethnic Lenses: Caring for the Elderly in a Multicultural Society.
Many Americans see their own aging through an ethnic lens: what they expect of it is influenced by the traditions they grew up in. The 21 contributors to this book, which was edited by Laura Katz Olson, focus on specific subcultures—Japanese American, for example, or Puerto Rican—and examine how each one cares for its elderly, both according to its traditions and in today’s United States. This panoramic view of aging encompasses Asian American, African American, Hispanic American, European American, and Native American communities, and also offers chapters on the Mormons, the Amish, gay men and lesbians, the rural aged, and women as caregivers and care recipients. Laura Katz Olson is a professor of political science at Lehigh University.
Gender, Social Inequalities, and Aging.
To date, gerontologists have mostly studied the old-age experience of white, middle-class, heterosexual males, according to Toni M. Calasanti and Kathleen F. Slevin. In this book, the authors examine the way people’s gender, race, ethnicity, class, and sexual preference shape their later years, including their family relationships. For example, many individuals continue working beyond retirement age or do unpaid work as family caregivers. Some freely choose to do these things and some have little choice, and that’s at least partly determined by gender, race, ethnic background, and class. The authors conclude, “Ultimately, our book does not advocate for an ‘ideal’ way to grow old. Instead, our focus on diversity reveals many ways to age…[but] we ask whether old people are equally able to have the sort of old age they would prefer.” Toni Calasanti is a professor of sociology at Virginia Tech. Kathleen Slevin is Chancellor Professor of Sociology at the College of William and Mary.
The Aging Experience: Diversity and Commonality Across Cultures.
What is old age like in other cultures? In a landmark, 10-year study, seven anthropologists went looking for answers on four continents. They analyzed and compared the aging experience in small towns in the U.S. with villages in Botswana and Ireland, and urban neighborhoods in Hong Kong. Their book won the Gerontological Society of America’s Richard Kalish Award for Innovative Publication and has been described as “the most comprehensive, detailed comparative analysis of worldwide aging ever published.” They report both differences and commonalties between cultures. For instance, it’s as devastating for Botswana villagers to outlive their ability to ride a donkey as it is for Americans to outlive their ability to drive. Among other things, the authors conclude that older people in the U.S. face unique challenges because Americans place so much value on remaining independent even in old age.