"The baby boom generation": mid-life women's experiences and perceptions of being older

Abstract

This thesis looks at post-war women as they reach fifty, particularly in respect to their experiences and perceptions of growing older. More specifically, it examines what factors are influential in shaping the identity of mid-life women's lives. Identity formation is a complex issue. In this thesis I take into account the fact that identity in mid-life is an outcome of historical factors; socio-cultural expectations; the cultural milieu; and personal organisation of experience. This thesis utilises a feminist qualitative life-story approach to interview eight Pakeha women between the ages of 44 - 50. Qualitative research is a method which is used to understand the meaning behind human behaviour. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather the life-stories of the eight women in my research. Life-stories are an account of an individual's lived experiences and are therefore enmeshed in the reality of a person's life. A feminist life-story method is a valuable tool for providing an insight into the complexities, ambiguities and even the contradictions in a woman's life. Secondary source material from Aotearoa/New Zealand as well as international material has been used to examine previous work in this field. By elucidating how women experience and perceive the mid-life years, this thesis will gain a set of perspectives from a group of people who until recently have been absent from the literature. From my research six themes emerged which will hopefully assist social workers gain a perspective on how to work in ways which validate and acknowledge older women's lives.