ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the third age by its underlying cohort or class composition are inadequate because they fail to locate such structures within a particular generational field. It is the existence of a distinct generational field that makes the third age distinct. This field has its historical origins in the cultural transformation of the 1960s and is intimately linked to the development of mass consumer society. The chapter explores this argument, which was originally framed by Mannheim's work on "the problem of generation" by linking it to Bourdieu's concepts of "field" and "habitus". Consumption as a way of expressing one's identity, of expressing generational defiance, of valorizing what was new and different, and of exercising freedom of choice and self-expression shaped the rules of the field. As the influence of work and family on individual lifestyle declined, personal identity became increasingly commodified.
