Based on interviews conducted with men and women over the age of 65 living in Portugal, the article aims to produce a depiction of what it means to be old and the impact of the aging process on the life and identity of the elderly person. Setting out from the premise that despite the greater regulation of age in contemporary society, a huge diversity of forms of experiencing old age exist, the text employs a microsociological, first-person analytical approach to discourses of aging. As well as differences in gender and social status, the senior population reveals a degree of resignation to aging as a natural process. However a number of aspects emerge as problematic for the elderly persons identity: the decline of the body and health, sexuality, the loss of activity, isolation and social discrimination are particularly relevant dimensions in terms of conceptualizing the elderly person as a reflexive actor.
Aging; Body; Health; Sexuality; Social discrimination