The trouble with vulnerability. Narrating ageing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Vasara, Paula; Simola, Anna; Olakivi, Antero

doi:10.1016/j.jaging.2023.101106

Cited by 11 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…These findings can be taken up with care-ethical interpretations of vulnerability and characterization of vulnerability as “a universal, inevitable, and anthropological feature of humanity resulting from the embodied, finite, and socially contingent structure of human existence” [ 4 ]. In this way, the concept of vulnerability can be used to recognize both potentials and challenges without “transforming challenging life events into opportunities for coping and bounding back” [ 30 ]. In the narratives of older migrants interviewed, their own vulnerability and strength, their own integration into relationships, and their own autonomy do not contradict each other.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspectives on vulnerability from the narratives of older migrants

Kainradl

2024

Z Gerontol Geriat

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Background Older migrants are considered a vulnerable population group in many ways. Marginalization and social exclusion lead to unequal opportunities for social participation. Aim In order to break down barriers for older migrants, the perspectives of people with migration biographies should be given greater consideration. Material and methods To this end, the results of an explorative intersectional ethical analysis of care narratives of older migrants are discussed in the light of aging studies research. The focus is on the ethical analysis of five guided interviews with older migrants between 65 and 80 years old, who have migrated from different countries in southeastern Europe. Results and discussion In contrast to the prevalent expert perspective, the narratives of the older migrants interviewed revealed not only resistance to vulnerabilization but also multiple negotiations of autonomy and dependency. By making ambivalent narrative and action strategies visible and linking them to narratives of intergenerational care relationships, the significance of care-ethical interpretations of vulnerability and characterization of vulnerability as “a universal, inevitable, and anthropological feature of humanity resulting from the embodied, finite, and socially contingent structure of human existence” [4] can be demonstrated.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspectives on vulnerability from the narratives of older migrants

Kainradl

2024

Z Gerontol Geriat

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“…The spatial restrictions they had experienced were legitimised by and in turn promoted discourses about the perceived (biological) vulnerability of older adults to COVID‐19. However, as critical gerontological debates on older adults' perceived ‘vulnerability’ have established, the wider context of ‘how age and aging [are] framed within communications about risk, care, duty, solidarity and interdependence’ (Naughton et al, 2023, p. 9) needs to be taken into account alongside the prevailing emphases on the biophysical and psychosocial aspects of vulnerability (also see Vasara et al, 2023).…”

Section: Spatial Breach Vis‐à‐vis Social Infrastructures and Webs Of ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The spatial breaches that older adults experienced during COVID‐19 were couched in ‘vulnerability tropes’, referring to discourses that emphasise the susceptibility of all older adults to the virus and the harm that their potential infections could cause—not only to them individually, but also to their families and ultimately society. As critical gerontologists have argued, such portrayals of vulnerability ignored the heterogeneity amongst older adults and established new forms of ageism, resulting in a loss of autonomy (e.g., Derrer‐Merk et al, 2022; Higgs & Gilleard, 2021; Vasara et al, 2023). Within the wider academic literature, some scholars have focused on the ‘biological sub‐citizenship’ experienced by populations‐at‐risk during COVID‐19, while others have examined government or community efforts to enfranchise vulnerable populations during the health crisis (see Sparke & Anguelov, 2020 for an overview).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social infrastructures and older adults' webs of care: COVID‐19 as spatial breach

Ho,

Gao,

Lim

2023

Trans Inst British Geog

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This paper argues that the spatial restrictions and social distancing measures which older adults experienced during COVID‐19 can be interpreted as a spatial breach in their webs of care, impacting their ability to connect socially with others through formal and informal social infrastructures. Drawing on a qualitative study of 50 older adults in Singapore (which is part of a wider mixed‐methods project consisting of 1199 participants), the paper shows how spatial breaches manifest as tension points in the older adults' webs of care. The paper highlights the paradoxical and ageist impacts of vulnerability tropes that emphasise the alleged universal vulnerability of older adults to the coronavirus. It provides further insights on why some tension points in the older adults' webs of care become resolved through adjustments while others remain unresolved. This analysis furthers our understanding of how older adults cope with the social disconnection that may happen during spatial breaches, especially when it is due to the choices of others to withdraw socially. Conceptually, the paper demonstrates how care assemblages and social infrastructures work in tandem to modulate the older adults' webs of care dynamically. The paper situates social infrastructures as key resource components in the webs of care of older adults, functioning as formal or informal platforms through which they access material, financial or emotional resources. Importantly, the paper shows how particular social infrastructures may become prominent or recede in one's webs of care as the person's care assemblages dynamically adjust to personal circumstances and relationships. In doing so, the paper bridges hitherto distinct literatures on how social infrastructures and assemblages are used to understand social life.

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Narratives of Everyday Life During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Finland

Vasara

2024

Frontiers in Sociology and Social Research

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The trouble with vulnerability. Narrating ageing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Cited by 11 publications

References 48 publications

Perspectives on vulnerability from the narratives of older migrants

Perspectives on vulnerability from the narratives of older migrants

Social infrastructures and older adults' webs of care: COVID‐19 as spatial breach

Narratives of Everyday Life During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Finland

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