Understanding unequal ageing: towards a synthesis of intersectionality and life course analyses
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ORIGINAL INVESTIGATION
Understanding unequal ageing: towards a synthesis of intersectionality and life course analyses Daniel Holman1 · Alan Walker1 Accepted: 22 September 2020 © The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Intersectionality has received an increasing amount of attention in health inequalities research in recent years. It suggests that treating social characteristics separately—mainly age, gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic position—does not match the reality that people simultaneously embody multiple characteristics and are therefore potentially subject to multiple forms of discrimination. Yet the intersectionality literature has paid very little attention to the nature of ageing or the life course, and gerontology has rarely incorporated insights from intersectionality. In this paper, we aim to illustrate how intersectionality might be synthesised with a life course perspective to deliver novel insights into unequal ageing, especially with respect to health. First we provide an overview of how intersectionality can be used in research on inequality, focusing on intersectional subgroups, discrimination, categorisation, and individual heterogeneity. We cover two key approaches—the use of interaction terms in conventional models and multilevel models which are particularly focussed on granular subgroup differences. In advancing a conceptual dialogue with the life course perspective, we discuss the concepts of roles, life stages, transitions, age/cohort, cumulative disadvantage/advantage, and trajectories. We conclude that the synergies between intersectionality and the life course hold exciting opportunities to bring new insights to unequal ageing and its attendant health inequalities. Keywords Intersectionality · Life course · Cumulative disadvantage · Unequal ageing · Health inequalities
Introduction The main aim of this paper is to illustrate how intersectionality might be synthesised with a life course perspective to deliver new insights into unequal ageing, especially with respect to health. First we outline the background to intersectionality and its potential for furthering knowledge on health inequalities, noting the potential for mutual enrichment between intersectionality and gerontology. We then discuss the key concepts and debates in intersectionality before considering the approaches that are typically used and a recently developed multilevel method. Finally, we provide Responsible editor: Marja J.Aartsen. * Daniel Holman [email protected] Alan Walker [email protected] 1
Department of Sociological Studies, The University of Sheffield, Elmfield, Northumberland Road, Sheffield S10 2TU, UK
a brief account of the life course perspective before considering how its synthesis with intersectionality can help to further understanding of unequal ageing. Our secondary aim is to encourage further analyses of unequal ageing from an intersectional life course perspective. This paper focuses on quantitative methods, but also draws on the wider literature for illustrative purposes.
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