Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 2021, 22 (1): 16-35 | DOI: 10.13060/gav.2021.005  

Being socially connected is a universal human need, but a substantial number of older men and women are or become excluded from these connections in later life. Exclusion from social relations (ESR) is unwanted as it undermines people's ability to lead a healthy, active, and independent life. Policies to reduce this form of exclusion have been limited in effectiveness, due in part to a broader lack of knowledge about the dynamics of social exclusion in older ages and the intersection of social exclusion with gender constructions. To advance our understanding of ESR in later life, we develop a heuristic model based on theories and previous empirical...

Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 2021, 22 (1): 36-58 | DOI: 10.13060/gav.2021.013  

The concept of social exclusion is widely used in academia and social policy discourse in European countries. However, one of the constituents of social exclusion, namely, exclusion from social relationships, remains unclear and underdeveloped both conceptually and empirically. Moreover, knowledge on the patterns of exclusion from social relationships among men and women in later adulthood is even less advanced. Therefore, we developed a multidimensional scale for measuring an individual's level of embeddedness in social relationships and examined the gender patterns of social embeddedness. We applied latent class analysis to survey data collected...

Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 2021, 22 (1): 59-77 | DOI: 10.13060/gav.2021.012  

Although important demographic shifts have generated both an interest and profound transformations in sociocultural interpretations of ageing and old age, the experience of growing older is still perceived negatively and is often measured according to how successfully people adapt to the current Western ideals of later life. In the light of recent research on cultural and literary representations of ageing, this article critically addresses contemporary American writer Erica Jong's mid-life and later works from feminist and gender perspectives. It shows how the author's writings contest the narrative of decline and ageism and incorporate some aspects...

Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 2021, 22 (1): 78-106 | DOI: 10.13060/gav.2021.014  

This paper shows that the universal female survival advantage evades all the countries of South Asia, except Sri Lanka. Consequently, contrary to the global trend, these countries have more older men than older women in their populations. In view of this, the paper first develops a theoretical model (using the life-course perspective) to explain the mechanisms behind the possible persistence of this female deficit, i.e. the (older) missing women phenomenon, and highlights why this model may apply to South Asian countries. This discussion addresses the higher mortality of females' compared to males at each stage of the life course that culminate in...

Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 2021, 22 (1): 108-126 | DOI: 10.13060/gav.2021.009  

This paper explores the relationships of affection and duty that elderly Roman mothers established with their adult daughters and sons. Analysing the written sources, it shows what duties adult children had towards their mothers in consideration for the care received during childhood, and how mothers demanded this support. The paper looks at the affective relationships between mothers and their offspring and highlights the importance of older women for the cohesion of the Roman family. This study draws five main conclusions. First, that care practices performed by Roman mothers gave them a privileged position in old age. Second, that the survival of...

Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 2021, 22 (1): 127-147 | DOI: 10.13060/gav.2021.010  

This article deals with the phenomenon of grandfamilies. It sets out to determine what the existing literature reports on the issue of grandparents in the position of surrogate parents, and to introduce the topic of grandparents as it has been examined in international sociological studies published in the past decade, thereby embedding the topic into the sociology of ageing and the sociology of the family. It also identifies key concepts and gaps in research. It employs the scoping review method, and the articles assessed in the scoping review were analysed according to their country of origin, research methods, and the concepts they employed....

Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 2021, 22 (1): 148-177 | DOI: 10.13060/gav.2021.006  

The article explores the meanings of gender, embodiment, and ageing in the work of public transport drivers. This profession is been strongly masculinised: men outnumber women and driving has traditionally been understood as men's work. The article asks the following questions: how have the working conditions in this profession changed and what does this mean for the people who perform it and for their interpretations of the work? What does the process of prolonging working lives on one side and technological development on the other bring to this profession? This is a case study of a 'man's job' in the situation where the working population is ageing...