title: Unexpecting age.
abstract: This essay argues that how we view our own old age is highly influenced by socially pervasive, though never explicit, expectations regarding old age as a generic category. I idenfiy four key expectations - the right to an old age; the idea that being old means being endowed with certain (positive or negative) characteristics; the fragmented relationship between the phases of life; and the assumption of the asocial nature of the aging process--and explore the sometimes contradictory ways in which these impact upon our own journeys through the life course.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Narrative Research, University of East London, 4-6 University Way, London, England, United Kingdom
authors.forename: Molly
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Andrews
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D063506:Ageism; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001240:Aspirations, Psychological; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012649:Self Concept; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012925:Social Conformity; D012945:Social Values; D013240:Stereotyping; D014481:United States; D014956:Writing