Individualism And Cultural Values In Agewise: Fighting The New Ageism

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Culture awareness shapes the community and helps the understanding of the world. Each person has their own set of values and beliefs. There are several aspects of culture such as language, social group interaction and recreation used to clarify (Hogan 15). The experience I chose was an assisted living facility where I shadowed residents with dementia and Alzheimer’s. The facility had a group activity and each resident had to create a card for a family member. The activity included glitter, stickers, crayon, markers and pipe straws. It was very interesting to assist with residents with their card and hear the story behind it. The book “Agewise: Fighting the New Ageism focuses on the relationship between aging and women wanting to remain young. …show more content…

Value orientations are subjective ideals and standard by which members of a culture judge there personal actions and those of others (Hogan 16). For example, competition, individualism and consumerism are the values that are common in mainstream culture ( Bellah et,al, 1985). In one of chapters it’s called the Eskimo on the Ice Floe which explain that every version is about younger people leaving the elderly to die in the cold. Even there was a student that falsely published an article how a 97 year old man committed suicide because he felt he was useless. Since it was myth Carol still believes it’s the truth behind the eskimo story and is very important to her. The ice floe in story to her has a meaning and it represents the fantasy of society as an extinction of the elderly. Also, how the times has changed and more magazine advertising and commercials forcing older people to look young. For example, “sixty is the new forty” even though the phrase is it appealing a lot of older people don’t agree with because they don’t feel any younger. Additional belief Carolyn has is being considered the eskimo elder which is a figured that has risen into to the cultural life of competing and contradictory attitudes. One group is the fear of aging into old age. The second group dislikes the aged and the third group is characterized of aging. Also, in the third group they feel there criticized by constant groaning and …show more content…

She seen an ad in the newspaper of an older lady talking about how she remains looking young and wrinkle free. Martha felt overwhelmed and depressed because she’s not able to wake up every morning and apply make up like she used to. Also, she can’t afford the cosmetic procedure to look like the lady on the advertisement. But she did have her values to remain young in the inside she work out daily and most mornings she’s still able to fix her

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