A construção identitária da mulher no envelhecimento através da noção de produtividade

Abstract

This research aimed to reflect upon the notion of productivity and its influence in the construction of women's identities through the aging process. It’s a qualitative generational study with a cross-sectional design, in which the main instrument was a semi-structured narrative interview. To this end, 4 women from the same family in different periods of their life cycle were interviewed, with a total of 4 participating families, or 16 subjects. The chosen life cycle periods were the following: ranging from ages 11 to 20; the beginning of adult life, from 20 to 40; adult life, from 40 to 65 and late adult life, from 65 years onwards. The main results were that the women’s perception about themselves in relation to productivity in aging may be impacted by experiences related to class and race, since those markers determine the work conditions and the time dedicated to unpaid housework. Generally, the way these women perceive themselves and each other, from different ages, concerning productivity, will influence their own aging process and the historical and social backgrounds that made up their life trajectories. Furthermore, it was concluded that the experience of women, whether in reproductive or in paid work, as well as in aging, is heterogeneous.