“Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life,” (Proverbs) yet the elderly of today are often times thought of as burdens by the younger generations. It is by embracing this negative mentality that discrimination arises. Ageism, as defined by Oxford dictionary, is “prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of age,” and generally, in society, is thought of as discrimination against elders more so than children. This differs from other forms of discrimination such as racism, or sexism, because ageing is an inevitable part of life, and therefore everyone will be discriminated against in time.
In present-day society, old age is commonly feared, and often times evaded altogether. Dying grey hairs and procedures such as Botox injections or face lifts are becoming more customary methods in which people attempt to mask their growing age from their peers. (Sachs) The media is a major reason in which people do not embrace their old age, because it has a great influence over how people view one another through the creation of a public opinion. The media negatively depicts the elderly, implying that they are childish, senile, and essentially, useless. (Asiedu) Consequently, this adverse portrayal of senior citizens led to a more extensive issue – mandatory retirement. Recently, the law requiring mandatory retirement at the age of 65 has been discarded for the most part; it was previously quite a controversial issue. The law generalized all citizens above 65 as unable to work, proving to be discriminatory because this was not necessarily true. Although some bodies and minds may experience deterioration, at 65, not all elders are incapable of contributing to the workforce. Forcing retirement is an example of ageism, be...
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When an individual unintentionally enters a room full of an unfamiliar crowd, he or she is bound to be embarrassed, but also have an apprehensive sensation of how others in that room will distinguish them. A situation like that establishes a moment in which that person realizes that all eyes are gaping at that individual. Just when that person could consider forgetting what just happened, unfortunately judgments start circulating among the unfamiliar crowd. As most people know, judgments are based off of a person’s appearance, race, religion, or a quality that doesn’t appeal to the person analyzing them. Obviously, judging is something that takes place whether someone likes it or not, but there are certain limits to it that many cross by adding
Nelson compares and contrasts this rationality by stating that being prejudice towards the elderly is no different than being racist or sexist. By comparing ageism with racism via a birthday card example, Nelson efficiently shows that the only difference between the two is that American culture deems it okay to be ageist because of the fear of aging and death. Also, there is a great strength in this argument because Nelson provides data from a survey, which states that individuals spend a vast amount of money in order to hide any signs of aging. Nelson strengthens his resolve by providing data that a general fear and “taboo” of aging exist in western culture. Due to this fear, individuals deem it okay to have harsh feelings towards the elderly because they fear the aging process, and they believe they are being truthful, not hurtful or
At this stage of the aging individual’s life it should be noteworthy and documented. The
Aging is universal and it is a process that everyone has to go through. The only difference is that everyone goes through this process at their own pace influenced by factors that will be discussed later on in this paper. When we think about factors that have an influence on older adults and how their life may be affected, we must consider the different social institutions while analyzing influences from social factors, cultural factors, and personal values. Abuse to older adults, stereotyping and informal care and technological advancements that affect older adults are the three topics that will be discussed in this reflection. Furthermore, will connect the three topics I have chosen to the knowledge that I have gained from my interaction
Adults entering the midlife years (middle adulthood) are experiencing an overabundance of life changes. Hall, Hernandez, Wong, and Justice (2015) stated that, during middle adulthood important changes occur across the physical, cognitive, and social domains of development. There is a mounting amount of research on the changes that middle-aged adults experience. One of the most unexplored factor that middle-aged adults experience is Ageism. Ageism can be defined as the act of being prejudice or discriminative towards a specific age group. Although, Ageism can occur at any given place and in any age group. Research shows that it is more prevalent in older adults,
Created and defined by Dr. Robert Butler in 1968, ageism is the “systematic stereotyping of and discrimination against older people because they are old, just a racism and sexism accomplishes this with skin color and/or gender” (Butler, 1975). Ageism is persistent and evident in the medical field, media, academia and advertising/marketing. Most social platforms displays hero’s in light of being younger. The workplace as a microcosm of society reflects the stereotypes and biases that are part of our culture and social environment. The most significant formal acknowledgement of ageism in the workplace was the adoption of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) in 1967 by means of President Lyndon B. Johnson (Dennis & Thomas,
Conversely, this is also a misconception of sorts. Ageism was a concept devised by Butler (1975) to describe how older people in general were discriminated against purely on the basis of being over a certain age by younger members of society (cited in The Open University, 2014c). Using this concept of ageism, Ms Jones is correct in what she is saying, however since Butler and Lewis defined this term, further research has been carried out into ageism and this term has evolved again as society has changed. A more modern take on ageism is defined by Bytheway (2005) cited in the K118 course material (The Open University, 2014d) as “Indeed we are all, throughout our lives, oppressed by ageism, by dominant expectations about age, expectations that dictate how we behave and relate to one another.” In my own personal experience I have been on the receiving end of ageist remarks at different stages in my life. As a teenager, it was perfectly normal for me and my friends to get told off for “loitering” if there was a group of more than 3 of us – 2 teenagers together were tolerated in our town, anymore than that were presumed to be causing trouble, even if we were quite innocently minding our own business. I am now a woman with a 7 year old, and it is amazing how many times I have been asked when my
Jr., Bernard E. Whitley and Mary E. Kite. The Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination. Belmont: Cengage Learning, 2010. Web.
Ageing is something that everyone will eventually experience if they are fortunate to live a long life. The process of ageing comes with various negative and positive outlooks. In western culture, ageing for both genders is particularly condemned. In the media in particular, the process of ageing for men and women vary greatly. Where, women are condemned for ageing more than men are. Media greatly highlights on the stereotypical notion of ageing especially in the aspect of portraying men and women and their social roles through advertisement. I will be discussing
According to DeBrew, author of “Can being ageist harm your older adult patients?” stereotypes and discrimination are evident in various aspects of patient care. “Ageism [is] defined as stereotyping or discrimination aimed at older adults and a lack of knowledge about normal changes of aging and presentation of illness in older adults (. . .)” (DeBrew, 2015). DeBrew (2015) states, “research findings suggest that ageism is common in healthcare” (DeBrew, 2015). Ageism is not only an issue in the healthcare setting, but also among older adults as well as their families. When ageism is present in the healthcare setting it poses
305). Society is constantly bombarded by messages informing us about how to reduce the signs of aging, instead of accepting the natural process (Germov, 2014, p. 305). These beliefs have lead to ageism being very common in society. Ageism is best defined as the negative attitudes, which are associated with the aging process (Novak, 2006, p. 3). Ageism involves an individual or group being stereotyped and experiencing discrimination due to their biological age (Novak, 2006, p. 3). This discrimination can be direct or indirect discrimination, victimisation or harassment (Johnson, 2013, p. 27). Unlike other individuals and groups who are stereotyped and discriminated against, those who are making these comments will one day themselves be of old
This brings attention to why race and ethnicity exist so predominantly in society. There are a number of theories that observe why racism, prejudice, and discri...
Race, Racism and Discrimination: Bridging Problems, Methods and Theory in Social Psychological Research Bobo, Lawrence D. Fox, Cybelle http://www.jstor.org/stable/1519832