The rhythm of ageing amongst Chinese elders in sheltered housing

Abstract

This paper examines how some elderly Chinese tenants in a cluster of housing schemes in the north of England differed in their perception, consciousness and management of time. It examines how there was too much or too little time for some of these tenants and how time played a part in their personal and social identification arising from their experiences of migration. Lefebvre's concept of rhythmanalysis is intended to be a transdisciplinary theory that could be used to theorise 'everyday life'. The writer superimposes this concept on the activity and disengagement theories of ageing to add meaning to the ethnographic data gathered and argues that ageing is not a simple matter of activity or disengagement. These Chinese elders coped with change through a flexible and ongoing process of adapting to different rhythms of life. This paper aims to contribute to the empirical understanding of ageing for a minority in Britain and to present a novel theoretical perspective on research approaches to ageing.

Ethnography in absentia: Applying Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis in impossible-to-research spaces

“…), the rhythm changes, and this ultimately has an impact on that body’s relations within its social context (visits to health practitioners, dependence on carers, etc.). As noted elsewhere (Lee, 2014b: 1519), as these rhythms are individually owned, those migrants who used to be engaged in physical restaurant work and felt that their bodies could not cope with the same rhythms of work were happy with the prospect of change and ‘slowed down’, to become more in tune with the demands (limitations) of their body. The respondents who did not do physical labour – such as a couple of retired teachers whose intellectual ability had not been impeded by their physical ageing – felt less willing to make that adjustment to ‘slow down’.…”

“…They complained that this was not an ideal arrangement and they needed a new space where they could sleep in a more ‘normal’ (implicitly circadian) pattern. At the start of my fieldwork, I stayed in the guest room of a sheltered scheme and shared communal facilities with the tenants (Lee, 2014b: 1512). What I observed was that, for various reasons, many of the tenants still went to bed at about 2am or 3am (or even later) and woke nearer noontime.…”

“…To some extent, the clamour for a more ‘normal’ sleeping pattern was in fact a convenient stigma-free way to justify their need to move away from their children. Elsewhere (Lee, 2014b: 1516) I have noted how, when they were asked about a planning application for a nearby pub to be opened for longer hours, one response was that as they did not need to worry about waking up to get ready for work, it did not matter how late the bar was open and the noise that might ensue. Their actual sleep pattern was not significant any more.…”

“…This element of agency – though limited by the body and its resources – is important. It explains why, within the same cohort of tenants ageing together, individuals could choose different rhythms, such as whether to remain busy or just do as little as possible (Lee, 2014b: 1518).…”

“…4 Popo was then able to avoid cooking for those two days a week. She quickly adapted to a different rhythm, or eurhythmia , cooking on some days and waiting for meals to be delivered on other set days, eating at slightly different times of the day compared to her previous routine (Lee, 2014b: 1519). Note, though, that Lefebvre asserted that there are ‘few isorhythmias, except of a higher order’, such as that of the body, but ‘eurthythmias abound’ (2004: 67).…”