G. Laws, EMBODIMENT AND EMPLACEMENT - IDENTITIES, REPRESENTATION AND LANDSCAPEIN SUN CITY RETIREMENT COMMUNITIES, International journal of aging & human development, 40(4), 1995, pp. 253-280
This article focuses on the embodiment, emplacement and representation
of aged identities and suggests that more attention be paid to the sp
atiality of age relations. Identities are both externally imposed and
self nominated. Using the example of retirees I explored the ways in w
hich particular places are involved in the creation of identities. Sun
City retirement communities are shown to 1) have a material form that
serves the retiree identity, 2) be represented in particular ways tha
t contribute to that identity and 3) simultaneously act as a represent
ation. The article asks whether or not these communities are indicativ
e of a shift to postmodernism, characterized by increased emphasis on
surveillance, security, simulations, consumerism, and fragmentation of
identities, in both life courses and landscapes.