Listening while doing things: Radio, gender and older women

摘要

This article investigates the role of radio in older women’s everyday lives. Based on interviews with listeners in Britain and Germany, it argues that patriarchy structures women’s radio listening into old age. The women who participated in this study accommodated theirradio listening to their role as housewives, deliberately choosing content that does not distract from their work and making sure they do not invade their husbands’ space with radio sound. Across their radio day, older women move in and out of different forms of listening, characterizedby different levels of attentiveness. They enjoy radio as background noise to domestic labour, but they also use radio as a resource for identity work and a critical engagement with gender politics.