An investigation into the overlapping influences of gender, sexuality, and aging on the medical description of autism spectrum disorder as a discrete category is presented in this paper. A significant gender disparity in autism diagnosis arises from the male-centric perception of autism, leading to girls being diagnosed significantly less frequently and later than boys. Bisindolylmaleimide I ic50 Conversely, the predominantly pediatric view of autism perpetuates harmful biases against adult autistic individuals, often resulting in their infantilization, ignoring their sexual desires, or misconstruing their sexual behaviors as problematic. Infantilization and the perceived inability of autistic individuals to navigate adulthood significantly affect both the expression of sexuality and the experience of aging. Bisindolylmaleimide I ic50 This study argues that expanding knowledge and further learning about the infantilization of autism provides critical insights into disability. By contesting established norms of gender, aging, and sexuality, the diverse bodily experiences of autistic individuals scrutinize medical authority, societal policies, and public portrayals of autism within the wider social sphere.
In Sarah Grand's The Heavenly Twins (1893/1992), this article delves into the convergence of the New Woman's premature aging and patriarchal marriage during the fin de siècle. In this novel, female decline is illustrated through the experiences of three young, married New Women, who fail to meet the heavy expectations of national regeneration, perishing before their thirtieth birthday. The premature decline of these individuals is a consequence of the moral and sexual corruption of their military husbands, who embody the ideology of progress at the imperial frontier. The late Victorian era's patriarchal culture, as detailed in my article, accelerates women's aging within marriage. Syphilis' ravages, alongside the suffocating weight of the patriarchal culture, were a double whammy leading to the pervasive mental and physical sickness plaguing Victorian wives in their twenties. Grand's analysis, ultimately, shows a discrepancy between the male-oriented ideology of progress and the limited possibilities for the New Woman's vision of female-led regeneration in the late Victorian context.
The Mental Capacity Act 2005's ethical framework regarding dementia patients in England and Wales is analyzed for its legitimacy in this paper. Pursuant to the Act, research involving individuals diagnosed with dementia necessitates prior approval from Health Research Authority committees, regardless of whether it entails collaboration with healthcare organizations or service recipients. Two ethnographic dementia studies on dementia, that do not include any engagement with the healthcare sector, are discussed here as examples, requiring HRA ethical review. These examples lead to deliberations concerning the rightful authority and the mutual obligations associated with dementia governance. Through the lens of capacity legislation, the state directly manages individuals with dementia, automatically classifying them as healthcare recipients by virtue of their medical diagnosis. This diagnostic process implements an administrative medicalization, converting dementia into a medical problem and those diagnosed with it into subjects of formal healthcare management. In England and Wales, a considerable number of people living with dementia do not benefit from associated health or care support after the initial diagnosis. An institutional imbalance, where high governance standards are not matched by adequate support, damages the contractual citizenship of individuals with dementia, a framework requiring reciprocal rights and duties between the state and the citizen. This system, in relation to ethnographic research, warrants an exploration of resistance. Rather than being deliberate, hostile, difficult, or perceived as such, resistance here encompasses micropolitical outcomes that are contrary to power or control, sometimes springing from within the systems themselves, not exclusively from individual acts of defiance. Mundane failures within governance bureaucracies can sometimes lead to unintended resistance. Willful disregard for restrictions perceived as impractical, unsuitable, or unjust can also manifest, potentially raising issues of malpractice and professional misconduct. I posit that the expansion of governance bureaucracies increases the probability of resistance emerging. The potential for both deliberate and unintended transgressions increases, whereas the capability of unearthing and fixing those transgressions weakens, as maintaining control of such a system necessitates a substantial allocation of resources. This ethico-bureaucratic commotion often leaves individuals with dementia marginalized and forgotten. People with dementia are commonly disengaged from committees governing their participation in research studies. Dementia research's economic landscape is further characterized by ethical governance's particularly disenfranchising presence. Dementia sufferers, according to the state, necessitate a unique approach, independent of their wishes. Resistance to governance that lacks ethical foundations may be intuitively viewed as ethical in itself, but I posit that such a stark categorization is somewhat inaccurate.
The research concerning Cuban citizens' later-life migration to Spain aims to address the paucity of scholarly understanding from these analytical viewpoints of older adult migrations, transcending the mere consideration of lifestyle mobility; the transnational diasporic network fostering such migrations; and the Cuban community residing outside the United States. The case study illustrates how older Cuban citizens, moving to the Canary Islands, exercise their agency in seeking greater material well-being and capitalizing on diasporic ties. This experience, nevertheless, brings about a simultaneous feeling of dislocation and a poignant longing for their homeland in their later years. Examining the life course of migrants using mixed methodologies opens a window into the cultural and social construction of aging within the context of migration research. Consequently, the research investigates human mobility in the context of counter-diasporic migration, deepening our understanding of aging individuals' experiences. It reveals the relationship between emigration and the life cycle while highlighting the fortitude and achievements of those who emigrate in their later years.
This document investigates the connection between the characteristics of older adults' social circles and their feelings of loneliness. Bisindolylmaleimide I ic50 Drawing upon a mixed-methods study, integrating data from 165 surveys and a selection of 50 in-depth interviews, we investigate how various support structures from strong and weak social ties contribute to a reduction in loneliness. Utilizing regression methods, the study found that a higher rate of contact with close social connections, compared to the mere count of close connections, is predictive of lower loneliness. In opposition to the impact of strong ties, a higher density of weak social bonds is linked to a reduced sense of isolation. Analysis of our qualitative interview data indicates that close relationships can be jeopardized by physical separation, interpersonal conflicts, or the weakening of the emotional connection. Conversely, a larger pool of weak social links, instead, raises the potential for support and engagement during times of need, cultivating reciprocal relationships, and providing access to new social groups and networks. Previous research efforts have been directed towards the collaborative assistance provided by powerful and less robust interpersonal networks. Through our study, the diverse forms of support provided by strong and weak social ties are unveiled, emphasizing the importance of a varied social network in minimizing the experience of loneliness. Our research illuminates the role of evolving social networks in later life and the presence of social connections as significant factors in understanding how social relationships help combat loneliness.
Continuing the discussion, prevalent in this journal for the last three decades, on age and ageing, scrutinized through the framework of gender and sexuality, is the objective of this article. My analysis is driven by the unique characteristics of a specific group of single Chinese women living in either Beijing or Shanghai. In order to explore the concept of retirement within the context of China's social structure, 24 individuals born between 1962 and 1990 were invited to discuss their ideas of retirement, considering the distinct mandatory retirement ages of 50 or 55 for women and 60 for men. My investigation will focus on three primary targets: integrating this community of single women into retirement and aging studies; methodically collecting and documenting their conceptualizations of retirement; and, ultimately, deriving meaningful conclusions from their accounts to re-evaluate prevalent paradigms of aging, especially the concept of 'successful aging'. Empirical data underscores the significant value single women place on financial freedom, but practical steps toward its achievement are commonly missing. These individuals also harbor diverse visions for their retirement years, encompassing the places they wish to reside, the people they wish to spend their time with, and the activities they desire to engage in – encompassing established aspirations and new career directions. Taking inspiration from 'yanglao,' a term used instead of 'retirement,' I assert that 'formative ageing' offers a more inclusive and less normative framework for analyzing the aging population.
This historical review analyzes post-World War II Yugoslavia's policies aimed at modernizing and uniting its extensive rural population, drawing comparisons to the efforts of other communist nations. The Yugoslav project, while ostensibly creating a 'Yugoslav way' separate from Soviet socialism, found its practices and motives remarkably akin to Soviet modernization programs. A modernizing state's strategy is examined in the article, regarding the changing understanding of vracara (elder women folk healers). The Yugoslav state employed anti-folk-medicine propaganda to target vracare, much like Soviet babki were seen as a threat to the nascent social order in Russia.