Ageism in America
Ageism in America
The term "ageism" was coined in 1969 by Robert Butler, the first director of the National Institute on Aging. He used the word to describe the process of systematic stereotyping of people because they are old. Ageism is a term that is similar to other isms ' in society, such as racism and sexism. "Ageism allows other generations to see older people as different from themselves; thus they subtly cease to identify with their elders as human beings" (Butler, 1975). All people, including the young as well as the old, can be discriminated against based on age. Today ageism is more broadly defined as any prejudice or discrimination against or in favor of an age group (Palmore, 1990). The Census Bureau estimates that the percentage of the population over 65 will jump from 11.4 percent in 2000 to 20.7 percent in 2050. During those 50 years the population between 45 and 65 will increase nearly 50 percent, but the population between 65 and 85 will increase nearly 114 percent. Faced with these hard to ignore statistics, America is still a culture which intensely denies death. We cringe at the mere thought of death and go to enormous lengths to avoid anything that would remind us of our mortality. Americans want to be forever young and never grow old and die. There is no place in our society for old age and death. This way of thinking is passed to younger members of our society by family members and by the media with the use of negative images of the elderly. Older Americans are portrayed as senile, frail or disabled in some way. The result of these ideas is that the elderly essentially become invisible to younger generations. Without value, there is no need to show respect to your elders, and most young people avoid contact with the elderly all together. The consequences of ageism are similar to those associated with other forms of discrimination. People subjected to discrimination tend to adopt the leading group 's negative image and to
The term "ageism" was coined in 1969 by Robert Butler, the first director of the National Institute on Aging. He used the word to describe the process of systematic stereotyping of people because they are old. Ageism is a term that is similar to other isms ' in society, such as racism and sexism. "Ageism allows other generations to see older people as different from themselves; thus they subtly cease to identify with their elders as human beings" (Butler, 1975). All people, including the young as well as the old, can be discriminated against based on age. Today ageism is more broadly defined as any prejudice or discrimination against or in favor of an age group (Palmore, 1990). The Census Bureau estimates that the percentage of the population over 65 will jump from 11.4 percent in 2000 to 20.7 percent in 2050. During those 50 years the population between 45 and 65 will increase nearly 50 percent, but the population between 65 and 85 will increase nearly 114 percent. Faced with these hard to ignore statistics, America is still a culture which intensely denies death. We cringe at the mere thought of death and go to enormous lengths to avoid anything that would remind us of our mortality. Americans want to be forever young and never grow old and die. There is no place in our society for old age and death. This way of thinking is passed to younger members of our society by family members and by the media with the use of negative images of the elderly. Older Americans are portrayed as senile, frail or disabled in some way. The result of these ideas is that the elderly essentially become invisible to younger generations. Without value, there is no need to show respect to your elders, and most young people avoid contact with the elderly all together. The consequences of ageism are similar to those associated with other forms of discrimination. People subjected to discrimination tend to adopt the leading group 's negative image and to
Bibliography: Butler, Robert N. (1975) Why Survive?: Being Old in America. New York: Harper & Row Palmore, Erdman (1990) Ageism. New York. Springer Publishing Company 2nd ed.1999 Deloria, Y., Jr. (1973). God is Real. New York: Grosset & Dunlop Levy, B.R., Slade, M.D., Kunkel, S.R., and Kasl, S.V., (2002) Longevity Increased by Positive Self-Perceptions of Aging. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Kennedy, Ron, M.D. (1996) The Thinking Persons Guide to Perfect Health. Rohnert Park, CA: Context Publications.