Incorporating Diversity: Meaning, Levels of Research, and Implications for Theory

Incorporating diverse experiences into gerontological theory, research, and practice is necessary for understanding the lives of all old people, and not only ‘special groups.’ I begin by explaining how incorporating diversity exposes the power relations constitutive of lived experiences. Using examples from retirement research, I demonstrate that starting with the voices of those with less power renders a more complete view of social reality. Further, a wider understanding of aging in the United States mandates that we move to the international-comparative level. This enables us to more closely scrutinize the often unquestioned structural and ideological processes that construct divergent aging experiences as well as to conceptualize alternatives. I conclude, then, by noting that a more inclusive approach forces us to see all aging experiences not as determined but rather as fluid, dialectical, contextual — and changeable through human actions.