Experiences and Meanings of the Existence of a Generation of Women

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

In the text entitled "Experiences and meanings of the existence of a generation of women", the authors investigate the generation of women born in the 40s and 50s in the Portuguese region of Braga and their relationship to family, education, work, leisure, consumption and religion. The research conducted using qualitative methodology (life story interviews and focus groups) was to confirm the following hypothesis, which is that members of the same generation share certain bonds that concern being in the world and understanding that same world, and which separate them from members of other generations. At the same time, relations with the latter are established through confrontations and interruptions, thereby changing the experiences and understandings of all generations included in the said relations. The topic and accompanying research are interesting for three reasons: The first is that it rehabilitates historically neglected sociological analyses of the concept of generation. Another reason is that it proposes an interdisciplinary approach to the mentioned topic with an emphasis on the philosophical-theoretical aspect (that of Ortega y Gasset, Karl Mannheim and Pierre Bourdieu, with the latter being justifiably criticized) which is often underrated in contemporary research. The third reason is that we were given results of research on the generation of older women, a topic that is also not sufficiently researched.

 

Unfortunately, there are several major issues here:

 

1.         Methodology

a.         The absence of a description of the sample size and its socio-demographic characteristics is particularly striking. Throughout the text, the respondents were presented inadequately, by stating in brackets their gender, education, number of children, occupation and social origin. When it comes to the latter, additional confusion was caused by formulations such as "humble social origin", "social origin small agricultural owners", "very humble social origin" and "very poor social origin", which were used without a clear explanation and contextualisation of each and every one. At the same time, it remains unclear how many participants were interviewed and how many were in the focus groups. How did the researchers arrive at the sample? Why were only women selected? Why in that particular time period and in that particular place? Were only women interviewed and why not their children, since the results present conclusions about the ways meeting with the members of the other generation affected both generations? Can mothers' statements about their own children's worldviews be considered credible?

b.         Although authors explained reasons behind using qualitative methods, further elaboration of each would have been beneficial (especially regarding life stories), since details given in the methods section are not sufficient to make results reproducible. Why not just interviews? What were the benefits of using both methods? How was the data analysed and by what means?

2.         References

a.        Although the cited literature of 60 references is relatively exhaustive, only two references are less than five years old, so their extensive updating is required.

b.         Writing about a generation of women would benefi from using feminist theoretical literature that could help explain and contextualize their lives and experiences in a conservative and religious environment. Unfortunately, those references are absent. 

3.         Research results

The results are described somewhat chaotically and with insufficient examples that would further bring closer and clarify the attributes of the selected generation within the context of family, school, work, leisure, consumption and religion. Moreover, each of these areas deserved its own subchapter and an explanation of how it coincides with the mentioned values ​​of the generation - honesty and trustworthiness, respect, solidarity and justice. Also, it remained unclear how the researchers concluded on those values ​​as well as how those values ​​were manifested in everyday life of the Portuguese women. Unfortunately, the presented data were not in my opinion robust enough to draw broader conclusions.

4.         Discussion

The discussion chapter, as it is currently structured, should actually be part of the introductory chapter since it continues the theoretical elaboration behind the problem of generational research in sociology. The discussion should have been written in such a way that the stated results are more closely described, interpreted and contextualized with regard to the hypothesis, existing body of research and theoretical assumptions. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

There are some inconsistencies in the text in the form of different translations of the same terms. The text should definitely be stylistically uniform and brought closer to the spirit of the English language.

Author Response

1. Methodology

 

The first reviewer states that our article does not reference the sample size and its sociodemographic characteristics.

 

In response to this suggestion, we have specified the sample size in the text as requested. However, we would like to clarify that in qualitative research, the number of individuals in the sample is not the most relevant aspect, as the purpose of such research, as suggested by other authors cited in the text (Collins 2009, Joas 2013), is to know and understand situated experiences, that is, the meaning that subjects attribute to their experiences in specific situations. From this perspective, it is not so much about accumulating a certain number of individual experiences to generalize the results to the entire population, but rather about transferring the qualities of those experiences to the population based on their similarity to other subjects in the studied population who possess the same relevant characteristics for the research. The ultimate goal is to analyze and understand a social world, that is, how subjects are in the world and how they orient themselves concerning the world. To achieve this objective, there are studies, some already considered classics, that rely on a very small number of subjects, such as Richard Sennett's work on the culture of work.

 

The first reviewer also points out that the sociodemographic characteristics of the sample are not well specified. However, we believe that these characteristics are sufficiently detailed in the text, which states that the participants in the Life Stories and the Focus Group were structured based on gender and social class. Social class was established based on educational level and type of work, differentiating between a low and lower-middle class of origin and a lower-middle and middle class of destination. Additionally, it is specified that this class differentiation was made considering the class structure of Portuguese society during the period corresponding to the studied generation.

 

Nevertheless, in response to the first reviewer's suggestion, we have indicated the social class of the interviewed individuals in the corresponding citations, removing other qualifiers such as "very humble" or "very poor," which the reviewer considers more ambiguous.

 

The first reviewer asks why we selected only women for our research. We believe that there is not only a certain generational identity among individuals born in the 1940s-50s concerning the analyzed areas, but also that this identity has its particularities in the case of Portuguese women. Unlike women in other neighboring countries, such as Spain, Portuguese women have had to combine their work life and domestic life due to the absence of men during the colonial wars. They have also been the primary socializing agents, including in the religious sphere. For all these reasons, we believe it is well justified to have selected them as the subject of our study, given their particular orientation concerning three of the areas analyzed in our research: family, work, and religion.

 

The first reviewer also asks why we chose individuals born in Portugal during the 1940-50 period as the subject of our research. As we state in the presented text, these individuals share a series of common characteristics, such as being born in the post-World War II period in small rural communities, experiencing a more or less severe material scarcity during their childhood and early youth; having a short childhood and youth; linking their sense of existence to the realm of religion; and later experiencing, in their second youth, the consequences of the democratization and modernization process of Portuguese society, a process they have faced based on their respective experiences and values.

 

The first reviewer asks why we did not also interview the children of the women studied. The reason for this is that this research is part of a broader project that includes the analysis of two other generations, one of which corresponds to the children of the women in the studied generation. This way, we can understand not only how members of one generation perceive their relationship with the next but also how the latter relates to their parents. By delving into these generational life worlds, we can gain more insight into the complex forms of societal reproduction.

 

The first reviewer also asks whether the mothers' statements about their own children's worldview can be considered credible. Mothers perceive their children's world through their own experiences and values, but by doing so, they also test these experiences and values, giving them a different meaning. What they say is credible from this perspective.

 

The reviewer also asks whether the research results, obtained using qualitative methods and techniques, are reproducible. The reproducibility of qualitative methods and techniques relates, as mentioned earlier, to the research objective of analyzing and understanding situated experiences. The meaning of these experiences can only be captured by listening to those who lived them, and their reproducibility is related to the possibility of transferring the meaning of these experiences to other subjects in the population with the same characteristics as the sample subjects. From this perspective, reproducibility can be achieved with very few testimonies, provided they reflect the complexity of the experiences being investigated. Conversely, it may not be achieved even with a multitude of testimonies if they do not capture this complexity.

 

The first reviewer also asks why we used Life Stories and Focus Group techniques in our research. In the case of Life Stories, this approach is justified because the subjects are older individuals who project the meaning of their life experiences from the present into the past, understanding who they are based on what they have become—all through a narrative that constitutes their own identity. By listening to their life stories, we can understand, with all their complexities and contradictions, the deeper meaning of these experiences.

 

We combined this technique with the Focus Group because, although Life Stories allow for a comprehensive understanding of the subjects' life worlds, certain discourses may emerge through the dialogue established in the Focus Group that are more difficult to capture in individual conversations with each subject.

 

The Life Stories and Focus Group sessions were recorded with the subjects' permission, ensuring their anonymity. They were subsequently transcribed in full. Once transcribed, the information was structured according to the theoretical and analytical framework of our research.

 

2. References

 

The first reviewer points out that, although the bibliographic references are exhaustive, only two of them are less than five years old. From this perspective, we must state that we have utilized the bibliography in accordance with our theoretical and analytical framework, taking as the primary criterion what the used bibliography could contribute to said framework. In fact, the reviewer himself notes that our research revitalizes the analysis of generations, making a critical reading of the classical tradition.

 

The aforementioned reviewer also points out that the research would have benefited from feminist theory in helping to explain and contextualize the lives and experiences of the women studied in a conservative and religious environment. However, we believe that the text we have presented adequately contextualizes these experiences by indicating that all of them are mediated by religion, in relation to a certain tradition and specific values. Moreover, all of this causes these individuals to face their lives, in the different analyzed areas, with all their contradictions, assuming certain situations and roles.

 

3. Research Results

 

The first reviewer states that we present the results of our research in a chaotic manner. However, we believe that this assertion is unfounded, as the presentation is coherent in accordance with the research objectives. If attention is paid to this section, it will be seen that it is written coherently. First, reference is made to the common context in which the researched individuals were born and raised, as well as a series of common characteristics that they all share. All of this is intended to show the common situation they have had to face. Next, their main values and their religious sense are described, demonstrating how these individuals have understood their lives in relation to these values in the different analyzed areas, and how all of this has translated into a particular way of being in the world and orienting themselves with respect to the world with which these individuals identify. All these aspects have been illustrated with various testimonies.

 

The first reviewer also states that few examples are provided to illustrate the reality presented. In this regard, we must point out again that the relevance of examples in qualitative research does not lie in their number, but in capturing, through a few life experiences narrated by their protagonists, the deep meaning of these experiences, with all their contradictions and complexities, so that all of this can be extrapolated to other individuals who are part of the same life worlds as the researched subjects. When these examples begin to reveal certain common patterns, they can be considered sufficient in accordance with the pursued research objectives. Although, of course, it is always open to discussion whether this sufficiency is adequate and, therefore, whether it would be advisable to increase the number of sample subjects.

 

The first reviewer also points out that each of the investigated areas (family, school, work, leisure, consumption, and religion) would deserve its own subchapter. However, we consider that this division would not be pertinent in accordance with the objectives of our research. What we aimed to analyze was how the researched subjects interpreted their experiences in these life areas based on the same values imbued with a strong religious sense. Furthermore, we examined how, by virtue of all this, these areas acquired a greater or lesser sense for them, shaping their different biographical trajectories to a greater or lesser extent.

 

 

4. Discussion

 

The first reviewer states that the Discussion section should be part of the Introduction, as it is a continuation of the theoretical reflection on the issue of generations, and that this section should focus on discussing the research results in relation to the hypothesis.

 

However, we believe that this is precisely what we have done in that section—reflecting on the research results while considering the initial hypothesis. The hypothesis posits that the women of the studied generation had a similar way of being with others in the world, in a specific time and place, and also of being with others for the world; and that this way of being in and understanding the world conferred upon them a certain generational identity, more latent than manifest. In this section, we have related this hypothesis to classical theories of generations and to Bourdieu's social theory, highlighting their inadequacies due to their inability to analyze the phenomenon of generations by linking more structural and more subjective dimensions. We have also demonstrated, drawing on the work of the German sociologist Hans Joas, that, conversely, generational ties are not formed through a structural causal relationship but through situated experiences. Although the objective situation of the women studied has conditioned their experiences, these experiences have gained meaning in relation to a series of values—values that have been revitalized in connection with these experiences in those specific situations. Thus, a way of being and orienting themselves toward the world in which these individuals recognize themselves has been established.

 

It is evident, therefore, that the research results have been discussed in the Discussion section in relation to the initial hypothesis, the theoretical framework, and the research findings.

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

 

We have, as requested, reviewed minor inconsistencies in the text regarding language and punctuation issues, and we hope that it meets the feedback you provided us.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The paper constitutes an interesting reinterpretation of the concept of “generation” in sociological perspective. It redefines the initial approaches of Ortega y Gasset and Manheim made in the 1930s, using data from the case study of women of the 1940-1950 generation from the Braga area in Portugal. The paper highlights the importance of considering the relevance of renouncing a conception of stages, assuming the importance of certain value structures of the past generation in the present, reforming the weight of indicators such as social class. The paper also considers that generations do not have a teleological behavior derived from the influence of external factors, detailing the importance in certain contexts of the values shared by a given generation.

 

Author Response

We thank the second and third reviewers for their comments, which encourage us to continue studying the phenomenon of generations in the line of research we began several years ago. We also appreciate the third reviewer’s bibliographic suggestions, which we will take into account for future research.

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

 

It is a very rigorous research work, with a magnificent empirical support and an excellent theoretical interpretation of this support based on the postulates on generations from the sociological thought of Karl Mannheim and José Ortega y Gasset.

One of its greatest virtues is to highlight the transcendence of the notion of generation in social dynamics, although it is clear that this notion should be approached from a rather phenomenological, experiential perspective, purged of other variables that could be contaminating it.

Likewise, the work opens an important horizon for rethinking not only the sociological essence of generations but also their radical nature in the processes of social stability and change.

Simply as recommendations that could further enhance the work, we think that the allusion to H. G. Gadamer's concept of tradition would greatly enrich the clarification of what it means to share the same life experience, as well as the contribution coming from the phenomenological sociology of A. Schütz, in order to deepen the essence of that pre-reflective “world of life”, in that reservoir of intersubjective meaning, crystallized in a tradition.

As a minor point, in the elucidation of the motivations that led to the constitution of a “generation without inheritance”, it would not be superfluous to consider the importance of the theses announced, perhaps prophetically, by D. Bell or R. Bellah in the 1970s. Bellah in the 1970s, with their analysis of the emergence of the culture of expressiveness as a key factor of rupture with the symbolic universe of previous generations.

In addition, the work is very consistent and sheds light on new ways of updating the validity of the notion of generation in order to understand cultural transformations.

 

 

Author Response

We thank the second and third reviewers for their comments, which encourage us to continue studying the phenomenon of generations in the line of research we began several years ago. We also appreciate the third reviewer’s bibliographic suggestions, which we will take into account for future research.

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

NA

Comments on the Quality of English Language

NA

Author Response

-