Call for abstracts for the special issue Gender, Age and Aging

Gender and Research announces a call for abstracts for the thematic issues Gender, Age and Aging, which will be edited by Lucie Vidovićová.

Aging is one of the biggest challenges of our times for both societies and individuals. Gendered nature of aging is one of its distinctive characteristics - not only do women have a greater life expectancy, but aging itself is a strongly gendered experience. These may be well known facts but what is less well known is how gender and aging are experienced by social actors and how this experience is positioned in different cultural contexts and stages of the life-course.

Aging can be seen as a lifelong process that consists of diverse components with heterogenous results. One such result is social exclusion. Current social gerontology follows at least five thematic lines: exclusion through space, place and community; economic exclusion; exclusion from social relations; exclusion from civic rights; and exclusion with respect to access to services. The available research evidence confirms that women and men experience these various forms of exclusion differently. In the case of older women, economic exclusion is very pronounced, which, especially if in combination with other minority statuses, leads to a higher risk of poverty. In the case of loneliness as a product of social exclusion from social ties, the research results are not clear. Some point to higher levels of loneliness in men, as in the case of divorce, while others point to higher levels in women and their experience of widowhood. The different trajectories that women and men experience in later life stages suggest interesting research questions that will be addressed in this thematic issue.

The forthcoming issue opens space for interdisciplinary discussion between social gerontology, gender studies, sociology, social anthropology, and other related disciplines. The issue will respond to voices critical of the absence of an age perspective in feminist studies and will contribute to the development of dialogue. The call also welcomes contributions led by an effort to understand and build theoretical frameworks. We welcome a wide range of thematic targets, provided they reflect the issues of age, gender, and the life course, though these may not be their main analytical line.

If you are interested in publishing in the upcoming issue, please submit an abstract for your paper (max. 250 words) by March 2, 2020 to the editor´s office (genderteam@soc.cas.cz) and to the visiting editor: vidovicova@fss.muni.cz. Include "Gender and Aging" in the e-mail´s subject. Contributions in Czech, Slovak, and English will be accepted. Guidelines for publishing articles in English are available here.

You will be notified about the acceptance of your abstract by the end of March. We expect the final version to be submitted by September 15, 2020. We also welcome expert reviews and reports relevant to the topic of the forthcoming issue. The special issue will be released in mid-2021.

Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research is a peer-reviewed scientific transdisciplinary journal of gender studies and feminist theory. The journal is included in SCOPUS, ERIH PLUS, CEJSH, DOAJ and other databases. More information, including formal requirements for offered manuscripts, is available here.