First, there is a clear gender distinction between formal and informal modes of civic
participation. Men tend to report more participation in formal modes, whilst women’s
civic participation was more local and family-oriented. Learning gave them the
confidence to take part in such activities - confidence even being needed to enable
more than one grandmother to offer to look after the grandchildren - or to go beyond
them to wider issues or a less local remit (see Danielle above on Nottingham health
action). It also, as we shall see with Juliet in the next section, enabled them to validate
the skills they acquired, and begin to mobilise and apply them in a wider context.
Also predictable, especially given the nature of our sample, was the age profile of
those who did take part in voluntary activity. Parents of young children have such
limited time that their activity tends to be limited to family and school. So it was older
people who reported more in the way of voluntary activity beyond these spheres -
though it would be a mistake to draw too sharp a dividing line between different
forms of civic activity.
However, we can illustrate a number of themes by contrasting two people who differ
on almost every variable - age, sex, class, sexuality - and examine the way they
deploy their time, knowledge and skills.
Since retirement, Tina, a middle-class widow, has been involved in a number of adult
education courses including economics, genealogy and exercise classes through the
University of the Third Age (U3A). By her own admission she does not like getting
involved with people and is a bit of a loner. Through U3A and her interest in
economics, she has taken over the running of an investment club and this is her form
of civic participation. Aside from the interest in economics and mathematics, she
describes the benefits as:
“ ... it gets you out of the house. Which is a problem for the elderly .. And of
course you speak to people. I mean these are the main advantages. You get
some exercise and stop worrying about your own problems and complaints.
Anything that takes you out of your four walls . . ”
Although Tina describes one of the benefits of participation as forming friendships,
she happily lived an isolated existence despite her high levels of participation in
courses and groups:
“ I go to the classes and I’ll talk to anybody . I like going out and I like meeting
people on a friendly casual basis but I don’t have friends. They’re a pain in the
neck. I enjoy mixing and going to things but I don’t want to go into a real
neighbourhood. I would just like a more casual acquaintanceship . For myself
(community) doesn’t mean anything to me . I don’t rely on people for a social
basis at all . You see, I’m quite self-sufficient, and I don’t need other people,
actually, except on, as I’ve said to you, a casual basis. ”
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