Perceptions of Power Within a Membership-based Seniors' Community Center

ABSTRACT

As opportunities for citizenship diminish in everyday life amid increasing consumption and privatization, there is a growing realization of the importance of participation and citizen power, particularly for older adults. Gaventa's (1980) concepts of visible, invisible, and hidden power and Arnstein's ladder of citizen power (1969) framed this study, which used participatory methods, including creation and facilitation of a members' group at a small seniors' center, to address the question: What are the factors that undermine or cultivate citizen power at a small community center for seniors? The data were organized under three power-related themes: powerlessness, reluctance to claim power, and claiming power. Findings suggest that negative social constructions associated with aging act as instruments of invisible power. Further, community center membership, to be considered meaningful, should be imbued with visible power, so that seniors can be involved in decision making and leadership.

KEYWORDS:

• community
• empowerment
• leisure later in life
• successful aging