Paper Short Abstract:

Divorce is an increasing phenomenon among persons in later life in the Western World, coined "Gray Divorce". What are the incentives of a divorce in later life, the implications and consequences? Can we perceive Gray Divorce as an unwriting of family life, gender roles, old age expectations? Voices and narratives from Danish divorcees will be presented.

Paper Abstract:

Divorce is an increasing phenomenon among persons in later life in the Western World, coined "Gray Divorce".

What are the incentives of a divorce in later life, the implications and consequences? Can we perceive gray divorce as an unwriting of family life, gender roles, old age expectations? Does Gray Divorce represent a craving for individualism and individual freedom, a longing for a vital life, more sex, new partners, a fresh map of life in the third age, or is Gray Divorce entailed to a life-long custom of partnering by way of serial monogamy, brought to us by recent cultural history?

How do family networks and -members react to Gray Divorces, and how does Gray Divorce impact on family constellations and relations?

Is Gray Divorce an unwriting of burdensome, caring obligations in family life - and a rejection of the traditions of human care, involving informal care for a partner in later life couples? Will the emergence of Gray Divorce alter these traditions, change the landscapes of care in family life and societal institutions?

Questions are numerous- so are the answers. This is a first delving into a new topic in family studies and in later life studies.

18 Danish persons, eleven women and seven men, in the age of 62-82, are interviewed about their lifestory, marriage story, and their (most recent) divorce story. The researcher is herself a Gray Divorcee, and experiences and feelings are shared in the interviews, along with figurative images inviting associations from the interviewed.