Abstract:
The essay situates the aging in the contemporary society, a stage in life imbued by multiples meanings granted by the bi-capitalism (NEGRI, 2014) which stigmatize it by using pejorative designations. Among the most commonly used designations we may find the ones that present the elderly as a "problem", or a "burden impossible to be carried" by the families that, increasingly and more frequently, delegate their care to specialized institutions, leading the elderly to be found in a state of complete abandonment and neglect. From this perspective we may state that among all age groups this is, without a doubt, the most underprivileged one. Situation that worsens when considering it a gender perspective. The present society valorizes the youth and the socially productive workforce and, despite the unquestionable improvement on this field, it still follows a patriarchal perspective. Therefore, we must ask ourselves: What is to happen with the old women? Are they doubly underprivileged? Can they recognize themselves as doubly dominated? What are the subjective consequences of their social position? How does it express their corporeity? The present paper intends to address these questions and propose the Vital History of Work mechanism (VHW) as a therapeutics tool that aims to contribute to the elaboration of a life project in which it retrieves, in the subjectivity of the old women's body, an ability of creative labor, susceptible to be socially valorized. Over said effect will be reasoned the La Vejez of Beauvoir (1970), a paperwork in which the author approaches the problem not only via a theoretical value but also via a testimonial value too.
Keywords :
Vital history of labor; Gender; Life project