"It's heavenly to be alone!": a room of one's own as a health-promoting resource for women. Results from a qualitative study

Abstract

Aim: This paper describes strategies developed by women to handle lack of time for themselves, and lack of freedom, in private life.

Methods: The paper reports on one self-assessed health resource identified in a larger qualitative study on women's paid and unpaid work and health/sickness. Twenty strategically selected women were interviewed, elderly women being chosen to obtain a lifetime perspective. The interviews were audio-taped and analysed according to a phenomenological approach.

Results: Expectations had been placed on the interviewees as women: to give care, always to be available for other family members, to adjust to their husbands. Many of them recalled seeking privacy ("a room of one's own") to avoid constant demands and interruptions, and as a refuge from partner domination. This was a conscious health-promoting strategy on their part. A room of one's own did not necessarily mean a physical room, but the right to -- and the possibility of -- a life of one's own. Forms of privacy included gainful employment, a separate bedroom, own social engagements.

Conclusions: Family life still demands more from women than from men, putting many women under constant time pressure and without time for themselves. In heterosexual relationships, women frequently feel controlled. Prevailing norms for married women and mothers, causing blame and feelings of guilt, remain obstacles to women wanting "a room of their own". The health resource of having such a room, and strategies for creating one, should be given attention in medical research and practice -- not least in primary care.