This paper explores the image of the body in physically dependent elderly men and women and the way in which this image reconfigures their identity creating new meanings. In old age, the body becomes related with illn...This paper explores the image of the body in physically dependent elderly men and women and the way in which this image reconfigures their identity creating new meanings. In old age, the body becomes related with illness, with disablement and with its own material finiteness. Representations of the body are thus constructed around pain, deficiency, and fragility. The research was carried out from a qualitative perspective, performing in-depth interviews, with participant observation and a subject ID card as data collecting techniques. The identity of the interviewees who consented to be recorded was protected. The data were analyzed constructing concepts and theoretical and empirical categories with the support of the Etnograph V.5 software for qualitative data. The findings reflect discourses on the body that turn on its deterioration and limitations that prevent old people from functioning adequately in life. Metaphors were identified telling of a sense of＂deteriorated identity＂; most participants saw themselves as ＂a burden＂. They also showed symptoms of annoyance and shame regarding their sick or fragile bodies, as well as a constant memory of the healthy or ＂ideal＂ body of the past, which is hegemonic in our culture.展开更多
文摘This paper explores the image of the body in physically dependent elderly men and women and the way in which this image reconfigures their identity creating new meanings. In old age, the body becomes related with illness, with disablement and with its own material finiteness. Representations of the body are thus constructed around pain, deficiency, and fragility. The research was carried out from a qualitative perspective, performing in-depth interviews, with participant observation and a subject ID card as data collecting techniques. The identity of the interviewees who consented to be recorded was protected. The data were analyzed constructing concepts and theoretical and empirical categories with the support of the Etnograph V.5 software for qualitative data. The findings reflect discourses on the body that turn on its deterioration and limitations that prevent old people from functioning adequately in life. Metaphors were identified telling of a sense of＂deteriorated identity＂; most participants saw themselves as ＂a burden＂. They also showed symptoms of annoyance and shame regarding their sick or fragile bodies, as well as a constant memory of the healthy or ＂ideal＂ body of the past, which is hegemonic in our culture.
