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International Journal of
Population Studies Australia’s Knitting Nannas lifelong learning

in 2012 and hearing how well-respected they were even at elements was identified when the women initially sought
that early stage. She remembered feeling comfortable with empowerment as anti-CSG activists.
their effective, non-confrontational approach that aligned Interpretive learning (Branagan & Boughton, 2003),
with her values. She said: involving collaborative critical reflection and creative
“I just felt like I didn’t want to be a part of a very loud group problem-solving, occurred as the women began to
and angry group of people. I’ve got no problem with construct their identities. The pivotal “activating event”
people protesting, but when they get aggressive and (Cranton, 2002, p. 66) of recognizing unanticipated ageist
abusive, I just didn’t want to take part in that. So sexism in the GFNR non-violent direct action (NVDA)
Nannas were an option that I felt much more aligned group was interpreted as stimulating transformative
with and comfortable with and I thought I could get learning by drawing on Freirean conscientization (Mayo,
my voice heard in a much more calm way.” 1994). Nanna Joy described how the older women
critically reflected, for the first time as a group, about the
While few Nannas had a background as feminist
activists, they possessed an awareness of sexism in their dynamics of oppression they were encountering. It set
lives as “everyday feminists” (Schuster, 2017, p. 651), which the tone for the core values of the KNAG movement – a
explains their attraction to KNAG. Survey data demonstrate determination to be activists, not relegated to insubstantial
that motivation to join KNAG was not influenced by the support roles, with confidence in their own judgment not
to ask permission (from men or others) before acting. It
views of their significant others, such as family members. was also the first step toward social learning in a women’s
The need these older women felt for an activist culture that CoP. Nanna Joy said:
appreciated their experiences of oppression, engendering
respectful, empowering relations in place of denigration, “… some of the men involved and the NVDA were
illuminates the claims of critical feminist geragogy not treating the women, especially the older women,
(Garner, 1999; Findsen & Formosa, 2011; Schuster, 2017). as if we had any agency. Pretty much putting us in
This finding contributes to the under-researched and our little pigeonhole … [with] suggestions that we
recurring theme of sexism in social movements (McHugh, provide catering, tea, and bickies and that we could
2012; Jenkins, 2015; Roy, 2003; Tosh & Gislason, 2016; do paperworkey bits and pieces. Which is certainly
Velásquez, 2017) and begins to address gender blindness not why we joined the NVDA … we were pretty much
by adding the intersectional dimensions of gender and age stereotyped, and there were quite a few sweet little old
into frame alignment. ladies there; I suppose, they did not expect us to be on
the cutting edge. It’s a particular type of sexism that
This extract from Respondent S.61 encapsulates these
values of frame alignment, emphasizing the importance of suddenly, once you reach menopause, you’ve never
had sex, you’ve never used your brain, you haven’t
meeting “amazing” women with whom she hoped to build heard half the words in the English language, and
longstanding friendships. Other respondents also referred you’re deaf. Yeah – and they speak slowly and loudly
to the value of this aspect of “sisterhood”:
to you!
“I think people see that KNAG is a way to ‘protest’ … there was a meeting where some of the men from
that is not confronting to you. Obviously, some people the Greens and the [forest activists group] kind of
want to be a Nanna because they see the popularity of picked on us, you know. We were doing things on
the Nannahood. My kids thought I was crazy at first, our own initiative; I think that was one of the biggest
but now they love it. My partner is very supportive. things. And so it was particularly targeted, especially
My dear old mum still thinks I’m going to get arrested. targeted toward the women who had shown the most
Some of my friends say they could never do it. KNAG initiative. So after the meeting, we went downstairs,
is great. It has given me the opportunity to meet some had a coffee, and it was just like, ‘What the fuck just
amazing women who I’m sure I’ll be friends with for a happened there?’ I guess that happened within the
very long time.” couple of months leading up to the start of the Nannas.
Interpreted in terms of adult learning motivation, the We kept going to the NVDA after that and tended to
Nannas’ identity aligned with older women’s worldviews sit in a group and support each other.”
by offering respectful inclusion, fostering involvement, This was the moment when the women recognized the
and colearning (Wlodkowski & Ginsberg, 2017). An patriarchal power differential within the GFNR NVDA
older women’s form of non-confrontational social action, CoP. The Nannas made a self-defining emancipatory move
which values each woman’s individuality and capabilities, as older women who refused to accept this gender and age-
was appealing. This blend of cognitive and metacognitive based stereotyping from others and preferred to determine

Volume 10 Issue 2 (2024) 9 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.381