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The impacts of gender on seasonal retirement mobility and wellbeing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 August 2019

Honggang Xu Open the ORCID record for Honggang Xu [Opens in a new window]  and
Yuting Wang Open the ORCID record for Yuting Wang [Opens in a new window]
Honggang Xu*
Affiliation:
The Tourism of College of Xinjiang University, Urumqi Municipality, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China School of Tourism Management, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
Yuting Wang
Affiliation:
School of Tourism Management, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
*
*Corresponding author. Email: xuhongg@mail.sysu.edu.cn
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Abstract

With the increase in personal mobility and improvements in living standards, seasonal mobility for health reasons is a well-observed phenomenon among retired people worldwide. Existing studies have shown that there are relationships between seasonal retirement mobility and wellbeing, and this study attempts to explore the effects of gender on these relationships. The framework of therapeutic mobility, which includes daily activities, sociality and context, was used to analyse this relationship. Qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews, non-participatory observation and mobile ethnography were used to collect data. This study finds that female seasonal senior migrants in Sanya have more abundant and meaningful daily activities and receive more emotional supports, and as a result, gain more benefits than males, and that these differences are related to their gender roles. Furthermore, while gender itself cannot explain all the differences, it works within the intersection of economic condition, age and family support. This study has enriched the literature on therapeutic mobility and has practical implications.

Keywords

seasonal mobilityretirementgender rolewellbeingsnowbirdsolder people
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 41 , Issue 1 , January 2021 , pp. 187 - 207
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

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