Velhice(s) e lazer(es): a representação do lazer por velhas e velhos integrantes do Programa de Ação Integrada para o Aposentado (PAI) em São Luís/MA

Abstract

The representation of leisure by old women and men integrants of the Program of Integrated Action for Retired People (PAI) in São Luís/MA. I analyze the social representations on leisure (in) for the elderness through the perceptions that old women and old men, participants of activities in the PAI, activate about leisure while participating or not in the activities. The research methodology used was the qualitative approach, conducted during the period of March, 2014 to March, 2016, in which the empirical referential was the Program of Integrated Action for Retired People, the PAI, in the municipality of São Luís. I performed a bibliographical research on the guiding categories oldness and leisure from Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical-methodological tools that understand the categories as social construction. Thus, categories leisure (s) and oldness (es) are understood as regions, that may be activated from different criteria; and also documentary research aiming to identify in the PAI’s written proposals the representations of leisure and oldness; and identify the activities that are considered leisure that were developed by the PAI. The participant’s observation, semi-structured interviews and informal conversations were also used as data collection source. The interviews covered 14 old women and men, retired from Maranhão’s Public State Service, that attended the recreational activities at least for one year in continuous way. Through the interviews with old women and men the intention was to identify the social representations that are presented about leisure and oldness; I conducted, also, interviews with five contributors (one supervisor and four social workers) who were responsible for planning and organization of the PAI activities, to an intention to understand the representation the contributors present about leisure and oldness. From the data collected on the interview, it was possible to detect how the activities developed by the PAI are ellaborated and that all of them are fraught by the conceptions of leisure. Through the performed interviews it was possible to identify old women and men’s representation of themselves and their perception of leisure. I conclude that the experiences of being old, of living leisure at the PAI and of experiencing the leisure activities in old age inside and outside PAI space take on meanings from dimensions of time, behavior and space. Thereby, experience of leisure doesn’t just happen on purposeful bases such as time and activity space developed in PAI, and therefore, subjective aspects like behavior, tastes, preferences and lifestyles of this social group must be taken into consideration.