Positive images of ageing and the production of calendars

Fairhurst, E; Baines, SM

Abstract

An increasing feature of public policy, especially in relation to older people, is to adopt a more person-centred approach to welfare provision. The establishment of deliberative forums is seen as one way in which services can be made more responsive to users. The membership of such forums include, in addition to older people, a range of stakeholders from the statutory (local government and health) and third sectors.

This paper draws upon a collaborative research project, ‘Older People, Regeneration and Health and Well-Being’, based in Manchester, Salford and Newcastle and has a general concern with mapping out the processes through which older people become involved in deliberative forums This paper, though, concerns only the Manchester research site.

Since 2003 there has been a multi agency Valuing Older People initiative in Manchester which aims to put older individuals at the centre of plans to regenerate and reshape the city. This initiative is organised around a number of themes, one of which is a positive images of ageing campaign. One part of this is the production of a calendar containing thirteen photographs which aim to question stereotypes of older people. Four calendars have been produced, each with different themes.

This paper presents a selection of these visual images to examine the extent to which ‘heroic’/ ‘marvelling’ or ‘ordinary’ images are presented and how such images represent the ageing body

Citation

Fairhurst, E., & Baines, S. (2009). Positive images of ageing and the production of calendars. In R. Edmondson, & H. Von Kondratowitz (Eds.), Valuing Older People: A Humanistic Approach to Ageing (277-282). Bristol: Policy Press

• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2009
• Deposit Date: Oct 11, 2011
• Publisher: Policy Press
• Pages: 277-282
• Series Title: Ageing and the Life Course
• Book Title: Valuing Older People: A Humanistic Approach to Ageing
• ISBN: 978-1-84742-291-0
• Publisher URL: http://books.google.com/books?id=dXXNK5x9IwYC&lpg=PA277&ots=snBZkgiumL&dq=Positive%20images%20of%20ageing%20and%20the%20production%20of%20calendars&pg=PA277#v=onepage&q=Positive%20images%20of%20ageing%20and%20the%20production%20of%20calendars&f=false