GRANDMOTHERING AND SOCIAL OLD AGE: AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND VARIATIONS ON A UNIVERSAL THEME

Authors

M. Jocelyn Armstrong, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignFollow

Abstract

This paper explores change in definition and relevance of the grandparenting role in a population of young-old (ages sixty-five to eighty) women in urban New Zealand, and compares the experience of European and Maori women. I focus on how becoming and being a grandparent is configured into perceptions of social old age and seniority. New Zealand women of both ethnic groups recognize becoming a grandmother as still commonly considered a key marker of social old age by society at large. Differences are evident in ideas about how the role contributes to today's self-definitions. In women's own definitions, being a grandmother is treated as part of a configuration of role change in later life, of which new commitments to social generativity, for example, or expanded opportunities for social integration are also a part. The significance of the grandmother role varies according to how it connects with these other role developments.

Recommended Citation

Armstrong, M. Jocelyn (2008) "GRANDMOTHERING AND SOCIAL OLD AGE: AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND VARIATIONS ON A UNIVERSAL THEME," Pacific Studies Journal: Vol. 30: No. 3, Article 3.
Available at: https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/pacific-studies-journal/vol30/iss3/3