Positioning older men's social interactions: A visual exploration of the space between acquaintanceship and strangerhood

In this article, we show how using a visual method enabled an exploration of the nuances of everyday encounters of older men living alone. It made visible more fleeting encounters, alerting us to the significance of such encounters. The article argues the need to pay more attention to social encounters, situated somewhere in the space between acquaintanceship and strangerhood. While not always easy to articulate verbally, characteristics of such encounters are nonetheless meaningful and supportive of masculine identities delineated by older men living alone.