Experiências e vivências sobre o envelhecer e ser velho: termos classificatórios, imaginário social e respostas públicas

Abstract

Aging is a global phenomenon that affects all human beings, although it manifests and affects individuals differently. As the elderly population grows worldwide, challenges arise that require an understanding of the entirety of this process, in order to meet the needs of this segment of society, which has diminished its social importance in capitalist society. In this sense, the present study seeks to explore how classificatory terms about "being old" and old age, and how they influence the lifestyles and public treatment given to these subjects in modernity. The aim of this research was to analyze the classificatory terms about being old and old age in Brazil, aiming to understand how the elderly subjects interpret and internalize these terms in their daily experiences in the municipality of Santana do Garambéu in the state of Minas Gerais. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews were conducted with men and women aged 60 years or older. The results reveal that these classificatory terms create a "fictitious old age," in which the elderly incorporate the widespread discourses, but do not have the material conditions for social production and reproduction to experience the idealizations contained in these concepts.