Understanding middle age in Indonesia: negotiating demands and resources in family and community networks

Abstract

Middle age (or ‘midlife’) is a neglected part of the human life course. It lacks the developmental significance of childhood, the density of decisions and transitions which characterise youth and family formation, and the obvious vulnerabilities of later life. Yet middle age is a pivotal period in many people’s lives, and middle-aged people often occupy positions of central importance in their wider family and community networks. In contexts in which the support for elderly people remains firmly a family responsibility, it is often middle-aged daughters who become main carers for older parents. At the same time they may be heavily involved in the upbringing and education of their children, or putting effort and resources into facilitating their children’s steps towards independence. Yet in Indonesia middle-aged workers frequently face open age discrimination, while emerging health problems may limit the types of work they can do. In short, middle age is a lifecourse stage in which demands can be considerable, while the resources to meet these demands may be coming under threat. This contributes to the vulnerability not only of ‘mid-lifers’ themselves as they approach old age, but also of their wider networks. This paper exploits ethnographic data from six Indonesian communities currently under study by a comparative project on vulnerabilities across the lifecourse. It critically assesses the role of local livelihood opportunities, culture and socio-economic stratification to understand the differential challenges and opportunities that middle-aged people in contemporary Indonesia face.

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ORCID for Elisabeth Schröder-Butterfill: orcid.org/0000-0002-5071-8710

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