Age-identities and the celebration of birthdays

In a paper in the January issue of this volume of Ageing & Society, Eric Midwinter argued that ‘much can be learned from re-drawing the demographic map with social rather than chronological contours ’. This opinion reflects a widespread view among social gerontologists that chronological age is an ‘empty ’ variable, even though it is central to the construction of social identities, both in bureaucratic contexts and in less formal social interaction. This paper draws on material stored in theMass-Observation Archive at the University of Sussex, England. A large panel of ‘ordinary people ’ was asked to write about ‘growing older ’ in 1992 and about ‘birthdays ’ in 2002. An analysis of the ways in which they revealed their age demonstrates that the revelation of chronological age is unproblematic in certain contexts that are deemed appropriate. Difficulties arise as a result of the association of age with various more nebulous statuses such as ‘middle-aged’ and ‘old’. The implications for the concept of ‘ the third age’ are discussed and it is concluded that social gerontology should pay more attention to the theoretical significance of chronological age and age-identity and less to age statuses.