Toward an Intersectional Approach to Health in Later Life: Incorporating Age Relations

• In Event: 4151 - Life Course

Abstract

We outline an intersectional approach to health in later life. We distinguish intersectional analysis of inequality from the (more common) study of interactions among other social forces. We also distinguish between studies that explore intersections within old age (the more common research design) from those that focus on intersections of other inequities with old age. Focusing on the intersections of gender and age, we provide examples of the latter approach to study of health behaviors and experiences of health conditions in later life. Finally, we urge research that takes old age as a position within relations of age inequality that intersect with those of gender and other inequalities.

Authors

• Toni Calasanti, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• Neal King, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University