Envelhecimento feminino: estilo de vida, afetividade e sexualidade aos 60

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the aging of women between the ages of 60 and 70 years in the city of Fortaleza-CE. Old age is understood as a human stage whose sense is produced according to the sociocultural context in which it is inserted. The most significant aspects covered are: understanding the "new" female aging; changes in behavior patterns and lifestyle of these women; affective trajectories whereas the love affairs of yesterday and the reverberations in new relationships after 60 years; and the sexuality of those women who have remained single, or have become widows or divorcees. The fact that there has been a significant increase in the number of women in this age group in leisure spaces of the city has been perceived, something which denotes the role of a new aging as evidenced by a context of overcoming old models and behaviors. This is the first generation of women to enter the walls of universities and to work outside home. Their retirement, has made it possible to experience freedom today, even if late and to establish a new relationship between leisure and work. Affectivity points towards several paths, such as the need of finding new companions, these different from yore or the denial of relationships in more advanced stages of life. Sexuality still contains remnants of a life of repression and at the same time the pursuit of overcoming old taboos. The purpose of this work is to lead for reflection on these questions that reveal a new way of women growing old and large transformations involved in this process.