Chapter 3
Senior confessions
Narratives of self-disclosure
This study is an ethnographic analysis of narratives of self-disclosure in the context of recurring happy hour events among “the new old” – people in their sixties who are recently retired or who are about to do so. The storytellers herein share recollections that divulge past transgressions, disclosing identities that are sometimes conflicting. In so doing, they reveal identities of foolishness at a younger age that they claim to have “remedied” through maturation. Revealing personal information is, in general, perceived as a risky business. For the conversations observed here, these groups form a ‘temporary’ bond that seeks common ground and accepts a ‘temporary’ understanding of what this personal information means and how it is to be evaluated.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Method and data
- 3.Literature review
- 4.The study
- 4.1Out of “wedlock”
- 4.2The “good old days”
- 4.3Neglectful parenting
- 4.4All work and no play
- 4.5Skirting the law
- 5.Discussion
- 5.1Humor
- 5.2Gender differences
- 6.Conclusion
-
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