Women though the ritual: female retirement, transition and negotiation around the identity and the social role

Abstract

This article addresses female retirement as an experience of change. From a ritual approach, the stages of the retirement process are analyzed and classified as Separation, Limen, and Aggregation. The empirical information was retrieved in three meeting centers targeting retired people in Quito and Rumiñahui (Ecuador). Throughout the period September 2017 - March 2019, 30 middle-class women in pre-retirement and post-retirement stages were interviewed, conversations were held, activities carried out at the retirement centers were observed and participant observation was applied when possible. The main finding indicates that the stage of separation is defined by the decision to retire, the Limen stage is manifested in the ambiguity of the role and social identity of these women, and Aggregation is configured as a moment of constructing an identity and a social role.