Unit 6

        The various readings in Unit 6 discussed gender relationships and living arrangements in older adults. It is important to note that each week, I am astonished at how much I learn.  I have essentially taken enough WMS courses to pick up a minor, and yet the weekly material continues to dig up scores of information that I haven’t even considered. Perhaps this is a reflection on the contemporary study of feminist issues, and it’s failure to consider the older generation in its studies and theories. I am happy to be in a class that puts focus on the older generation, as I am learning so much.

        The first article I would like to speak on is, How Important is Sex Later in Life, by Gott and Hinchliff. It isn’t surprising that few studies are conducted on the importance of sex for older adults. The National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles have only recruited participants up to 44 years of age. The survey, as considered by the Department of Health, neglects to collect data from participants over 44. Personally, 44 seems like a random cut-off age- I would be curious to find out why they decided to stop collecting data after that age. There is a societal consideration that all older adults become asexual after a certain age. I’m not sure where and why this stereotype came about, because it doesn’t make much sense. The study conducted by Gott and Hinchliff found data that suggests otherwise.

        The interviews were quite fascinating. All participants who had a current sexual partner attributed at least some importance to sex in their relationship. For this group, sex was seen as an important component of a close and emotional relationship. Participants put a big emphasis on the relationship aspect. For those who were uninterested in sex, their relationships simply came to a standstill. Their partners could either not perform or were no longer interested in having a sexual relationship. Besides the participants who could no longer perform, I think that the study would yield similar results in a test group of younger participants. At any age, sex drive varies from person to person, and I believe this study was a reflection of that. Unfortunately, society is quick to ignore sexual relationships among older adults.

        The question now, is why? Perhaps the ignorance is society’s inclination to mark older adults as “grandparently.” Not many people want to consider their grandparents as sexually active. This brings up another important point I found in the article, Weighing the Grandma Factor, by Angier. Angier noted, “calling a woman grandmotherly is a shorthand for kindly, frail, harmless…etc.” There is a negative stigma around the word, simply because, in short, it means “old.” In my Journalism classes, we are ill advised to use the word “senior” for anyone who hasn’t called him or herself a senior directly. My teachers tell me that the word might be libelous or harmful to someone who isn’t actually a senior yet. Is growing old that horrible in our culture that calling someone a senior actually libelous? That sounds a bit crazy to me.

        I reflected the knowledge I learned in the articles about living arrangements in my mini research assignment. However, I will note that the article Dying and Death in Nursing Homes, by Doress Wortes, was a moving one. It speaks about the responsibilities women hold in preparation for death of a loved one, and the grief that comes with that.

Unit 5

This week, I was most intrigued by the articles, Menopause is the “Old Good”: Women’s Thoughts about Reproductive Aging,” by Heather Dillaway and Like Mother, not Like Daughter: The Social Construction of Menopause and Aging, by Rebecca Utz. According to Dillaway, Menopause, like other gaining processes, has “been constructed by clinical communities and popular culture as a solely biological or physiological event and a negative period of loss.” Although, contemporary feminist research suggests that women find menopause an “inconsequential or positive experience overall” (Dillaway 398).

        In Utz’s article, mothers and their menopausal daughters were interviewed on the aging process. Utz discovered that the physiological experiences were similar in both women, but each generation had different attitudes when it came to menopause. Generally, the mothers accepted menopause as part of the aging process, where their daughters felt the need to control the physiological process. “Compared to their mothers, the daughters have greater access to health-related technology, received more education and possess a greater overall awareness of their bodies (Utz 152). All of this makes perfect sense. Contemporary society puts pressure on everybody to stay young, because “beauty” as defined by society, is young.  The younger generation has had more access to technology and information that slows the aging process. It only makes sense that menopause would be bothersome, as it is a natural aging process that they cannot control.

        After reading through the experiences and thoughts of the women in each article, I was curious how my own mother felt about menopause and aging. So, I asked her. The conversation I had with my mother was a great supplement to this week’s readings. She said that women are finally catching on to the fact that menopause can open you up to the best time in your life. “Oh, I could talk about this for hours,” she said. I had opened up a can of worms. “I have a confidence that I didn’t have as a young women, I have found my voice and my inner strength. It’s really an opportunity and a time for women to get reconnected with her deepest self and a time to rediscover passions.” My mother added that today, there are more options to combat the physical challenges that menopause once brought, such as bio identical hormones. These options help women move more gently through the process. All in all, there’s never been a better time to be a menopausal woman in the history of the world! In a final word, my mother explained the new-found freedom menopause has brought. “I actually tell a joke that estrogen was never really a friend of mine. It was such a blessed freedom to be free of those mood swings, free of PMS. In many ways, I felt free from my cycle - that is when I opened up to being a writer and an artist, it was a second blossoming.”

        This conversation certainly opened my eyes to something that I have not yet even considered. The way I see it, menopause does not sound like a loss. In fact, it sounds beautiful. What we lose in the aging process in society’s definition for physical beauty, we gain in confidence, passion and freedom. If embraced, it is a time in which the ego is shattered and women blossom. Menopause? Sign me up!

Research Assignment 3

Older women can take several steps to improve their overall health and well being in an effort to remain in their homes late into life. I believe that one of the biggest factors is focusing on personal health. Good overall health should include a balanced, personalized diet and vitamin regimen along with daily physical activity. It isn’t necessary for the elderly to partake in vigorous physical activity, but daily activities like walking, dancing, gardening, swimming, etc. is beneficial for overall health. According to the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, more than 60 percent of U.S. women do not engage in the recommended amount of physical activity, and physical inactivity is more common among women than among men. For older women, physical activity can reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. It can also lower the risk of falling and improve cognitive function. A community can take steps to improve the physical well being of its members.  For example, a community could build safe, accessible walking and bicycle trails or provide community-based programs to meet the needs of older women. I believe that physical health is the key to independence. When an older adult is in good health, he or she will inevitably have more independent than one who is not.

                    There are still things that can be changed to make the nursing home feel less institutionalized. After conducting some research, I found that in 2009, the U.S Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services aimed to “transform nursing homes into environments that are more like [residents’] homes through both environmental changes and resident-centered caregiving.”  Included in that proposal were plans to individualize personal care, giving residents more choice over their daily routines, and a call to de-institutionalize the environment as a whole by removing things like meals served on standard trays.

                    I found numerous alternatives to nursing homes on the AARP website.

        The Village concept supports the needs of older adults medically, socially, emotionally and spiritually. The Beacon Hill Village in Boston is one of the mot prominent examples of a Village concept. The AARP maintains that the elderly can reap many benefits from living in a Village. The biggest benefit is that the living structure “allows older adults to remain in their communities, delaying or even preventing the need for institutional care.” I strayed from the AARP website to research more alternatives to nursing homes. On the U.S. government’s website for Medicare, I found an alternative in the PACE program. PACE stands for the “Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly.” The program features medical and social services that can be provided at an adult day health center or at the customer’s home.

                    I was interested to research homelessness in older adults because I rarely associate homelessness to the elderly. According to a study by the National Coalition for the Homeless, elderly homeless persons are more prone to “victimization and more likely to be ignored by law enforcement.” I gathered that older persons and homelessness is a vicious cycle. The longer that the elderly remain homeless, the poorer health they are in. The poorer health they are in, the less apt they are to take care of themselves. The cycle continues as aging takes its horrible toll.  

Research Assignment

        I spent a decent amount of time searching the Internet to find an agency that was geared specifically toward the care of elderly women. I happened to find one in Massachusetts – but I simply could not get a representative on the phone to speak with. After that, I found a company called “Visiting Angels,” that serves senior housing care in Rhode Island. The company serves seniors in Cranston, Pawtucket, Providence and Warwick.

        According to the company’s mission statement, Visiting Angels aims to provide non-medical senior care. “Our Angels provide in-home care, respite care, senior personal care, elder care and companion care so that elderly adults can continue to live independently in their own homes throughout America.”  The company itself is easily accessible online and through the telephone, but it is located in Providence, Rhode Island.

        Visiting Angels was established in 1998 by three experienced directors. Their goal was to create a network of homecare agencies across the nation. In four years, their goal was realized. The directors of Visiting Angels hold the philosophy that they are “in business to provide the best care possibly to seniors as well as others who need in home care while giving total respect to the care giving staff.”       

        I was interested to learn that the elderly in need of services can personally choose the “Angel” they would like. Each senior is given the opportunity to interview his or her caregiver.  Further, the senior is in charge of his or her own schedule. I thought that this is a unique and beneficial feature, as it gives patients a strong sense of independence. As we learned in class, maintaining independence is necessary for the elderly, because it affirms their autonomy. The more independent seniors are, the more active they will be in every aspect of their life.

        As previously stated, I searched the Internet for a bit before finding this agency. I searched numerous agency websites, and I found the Visiting Angels website to be one of the best. The company’s website is user-friendly. It was colorful, easy to navigate, thorough and informative. Someone could spend hours just reading through the information the website provides. It also features a minute-long YouTube clip that explains what the company does, for those who are not keen to reading.

        Unfortunately, I could not find an agency that was geared specifically towards elderly women. After a short phone interview with the company, it was clear that Visiting Angels does not incorporate any feminist ideas about aging in its policies and practices. I did not learn much from my phone interview with company employee Joe.  Joe was able to tell me what the company does, but after that he was not much help.  According to Joe, Visiting Angels is a non medical homecare agency, we provide certified nursing assistants to provide services in the home such as assistance in hygiene, errands and shopping and other help.” Afterwards, I asked Joe if Visiting Angels upholds any feminist values, especially when working with older women. Joe wasn’t able to answer this question. In fact, he wasn’t able to answer any of my other questions regarding feminist ideals and practices. This told me that the company is not geared specifically towards women.  If it is, their representatives need to learn more about these practices and ideals so that women can have their specific questions answered.

http://www.visitingangels.com/homecare-services

Unit IIII

Often, the elderly can feel as though they are stagnant. This is a term called "compression of mobility". People who experience compression of mobility are unable to do the things they want to do, because their body simply does not allow for it.
Of all the readings this unit, I was most interested in Meika Loe's, "Doing it my way: old women, technology, and wellbeing."  This article broke the stigma I had about old ladies being stuck in their ways. The reality is that most old women embrace technology, and utilize it in many ways. Just the other day, my nana was talking about her Facebook. Well, I didn't know that she had a Facebook - but the information was additional confirmation that older ladies are using technology and social media more and more. She told me that mainly, she looks at the photographs my brothers upload, who both live across the country.
I was also very interested to learn about Dan Buettner and his formula for longevity. Buettner partnered with National Geographic and hired a team of longevity researchers to identify sites around the world where people lived better, and subsequently, longer. In these pockets, inhabitants live to age 100 at a rate that is 10 times greater than in the United States. The Blue Zone claim is: “by improving their lifestyle, people can look and feel better at every age, and add 12 years to their life expectancy.” Buettner concludes that a big factor in longevity is personal happiness; happy people live better lives, and they live longer lives. Some other factors include a healthy diet, exercise, a low-stress lifestyle or participating in activities that reduce stress, an awareness of a life purpose, a loving community, a loving family, etc. I'm sure the list could go on and on. I have noticed a subtle shift in health awareness in our nation over the past ten years. Generally, people are trying to eat better and exercise more frequently. We are more aware of high-fructose corn syrup, GMOs and hydrogenated oils. Some distributors are requiring food packaging to alert buyers if the product contains GMOs. Additionally, some companies now offer employees exercise and nutrition programs.
I do not think that it is any coincidence the people in these blue zones are living longer. With all of this new information buzzing about in my mind, I took the “True Happiness Compass” and “Vitality Compass” tests. My results weren’t bad! For the “Vitality Compass” test, my life expectancy was 93.6 years of age, with 76.9 healthy years – free of cancer, heart disease & diabetes. Due to my habits, my life has accrued 12.7 years. It was a little scary looking at hard numbers that predicted how many years I have to live on this earth. I am, although, very interested in Buettner’s suggestions for vitality.  I got an “A” for my True Happiness Grade– well good, I feel quite happy and I wasn’t ready for this test to tell me otherwise! “You feel competent, independent and have good relationships with friends. Your positive attitude reflects your desire and ability to thrive on a day-to-day basis. The result page gave me two personalized recommendations to continue to find happiness in my everyday life. It suggested that I hang out with happy people and see the sun. I fully agree with both of these recommendations. My mood is dramatically affected depending upon the attitudes of others around me. Sometimes, I call people “emotional vampires” (not to their face), because they seem to just suck any happy emotion right out of me, with their negative outlook on life. I wish I was better protected from these emotional vampires. Lately, I have been working on keeping my “emotional defenses” up, so that I can maintain my state of happiness even around the people who suck it out of me. Perhaps I should try a garlic garland? The second recommendation to “see the sun” was another fitting reminder for me.  The text informed me that sunlight prompts the body to manufacture endorphins that give you a happy feeling, similar to a runner’s high. I believe that the amount of sunlight I see in a day plays a big role in my mood. Consequently, I’m not exactly the merriest version of myself in the dark days of winter. According to these tests, I should be aging gracefully...we'll see!


Loe's article reminded me of this YouTube gem: http://m.youtube.com/watch?
v=M95CAeiOPtE , while relatively unrelated - it's pretty adorable.