Colonization of later life? Laypersons' and users' agency regarding anti-aging medicine in Germany

Mark Schweda and Larissa Pfaller

Social Science & Medicine, 2014, vol. 118, issue C, 159-165

Abstract: Anti-aging medicine is regarded as a significant trend in contemporary Western societies. Foucauldian gerontology provides some of the dominant theoretical perspectives on this trend in social and cultural theory. Proceeding from its interpretation and critique of anti-aging in terms of medicalization and responsibilization of aging, we explore by means of qualitative socio-empirical research how interested laypersons as well as non-professional users in the German context actually perceive of and deal with the medical claims and moral imperatives surrounding anti-aging medicine. The study is based on 12 focus groups and 20 narrative interviews (96 participants all included). They were conducted in Germany between 2011 and 2012, and analyzed by qualitative content analysis as well as comparative sequence analysis. The empirical findings indicate that in everyday life, interested laypersons and non-professional users employ different strategies for dealing with anti-aging products and services, corresponding to different degrees of affirmation and rejection. Four strategies could be identified: (a) medical optimism, (b) preventive maximalism, (c) ritualized well-being, and (d) considerate rejection. Also, each type was problematized and arguments against it were expressed. Overall, these findings show how our participants develop viable strategies to put the relevance of medical knowledge and moral imperatives for their own lives into perspective. This sheds light on laypersons' and users' agency—that is, their active role and deliberative space in the uptake, adaptation, and integration of anti-aging into their personal life. These empirical findings contribute to an enriched picture of the actual practice of anti-aging in concrete national and socio-cultural settings. This can help to differentiate the evaluation and thus make its critique more context sensitive, adequate, and targeted.

Keywords: Germany; Anti-aging medicine; Prevention; Foucauldian gerontology; (Bio-)medicalization of aging; Agency; Focus groups; Interviews (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:118:y:2014:i:c:p:159-165

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DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.07.064

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