O ethos do idoso no Bolsao Sul-mato-grossense: entre o estatuto e o asilo

Abstract

This paper considers how old people construct their ethos, the representations and the way in which the state deals with them through legislation about the elder. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were utilised in the compilation of this paper, with the latter being conducted through questionnaires and interviews with elders aged 65 and over and that live in sheltered housing situated in the five cities that make up the Bolsao Sul-Mato-Grossense region. The theoretical basis of this work examined cultural studies conducted, by Silva (2000) and Hall (2005), and additionally considered discourse from other academics such as PECHEUX, 1988; ORLANDI, 2005; CHARAUDEAU, 2006 and MAINGUENEAU, 2006. Much of the discourse focuses on the way in which the ethos of elders is shaped by ideological, historical and social factors and through old people's interactions with each other. In chapter I, we present the theoretical basis of this paper considering the discourse, the effect of the senses, of the identity, ethos, image and representations of old people. In the second chapter, we discuss the methodology used for compiling this paper, as well as the conditions of production that extend to the sheltered housing and statutes that directly affect old people. We analyse perceptions of old people as well as the ethos of elders in the Bolsao Sul-Mato-Grossense region in the third chapter. Consideration of legislation reveals that it provides protection for old people that assumes their competence and ability to protect and exercise their rights under the law, however, the reality is somewhat different. Through the consideration of issues such as ethos of credibility (competence and value), of the abandonment, of the victimization, of the citizenship and identification (humanity and power). The evidence reveals that sheltered housing is the only option for most old people in Bolsao Sul-Mato-Grossense since a great part of them do not own their property and live alone, isolated or neglected by their families. For these old people, their identities are constructed according to their socio-historical and cultural experiences and particularly through their social and familiar exclusion.