Abstract
The experience of depression is diverse based on social locations and context. This analysis is based on 45 interviews with primarily working-class depressed elderly women who were recruited in primary care clinics in northern central California. They explain their emotional distress by referencing biological and social factors associated with losing a productive self based on domestic labor and the caregiving of others. Some women redirect the trajectory of their distress by resisting hegemonic femininity. However, their efforts lead to a pariah femininity that they are neither fully at ease with nor that resolves their emotional distress. For a few women an alternative discourse of a dignified feminine self emerges in the context of friendships and faith. Depression in working-class elderly women can be characterized by an ongoing negotiation of limited statuses and roles in which control over one’s self is paramount.
Original language | English (US) |
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Journal | Sociological Perspectives |
DOIs | |
State | Accepted/In press - Jan 1 2018 |
Keywords
- aging & self
- and class
- depression
- elderly women
- gender
- in-depth interviews
- race
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Sociology and Political Science