What is ageism?

Introduction

The term ageism was coined by Robert Butler, the first director of the National Institute on Aging. Like racism and sexism, ageism involves prejudice and discrimination directed toward a specific segment of the population. When someone claims that African Americans are inferior to whites or that females are less intelligent than males, the listener usually realizes that racist and sexist attitudes are being presented. Many persons, however, will accept the notion that the aged are senile, asexual, inflexible, poverty-stricken, and incapable of learning, without recognizing the prejudicial nature of such statements. In most instances, the stereotypical elderly person is viewed negatively; the prevailing attitude in the United States is that young is good and old is inferior. According to sociologist Erdman Palmore, ageism differs from racism and sexism in two major ways: All people become targets of ageism if they live long enough, and people are often not aware that ageism exists.

Surveys and other research indicate that ageist attitudes are widely held in American culture. Any attitude must be learned, and there are many sources available in American society. On television and in motion pictures, there are comparatively few older characters. The few older persons portrayed are typically depicted as either bumbling, forgetful souls who beget laughter and ridicule (negative ageism) or saintly paragons of virtue who possess great wisdom (positive ageism). Neither portrayal is realistic. In actuality, these are stereotypes that correspond to the attributes most commonly assumed to apply to old persons. Magazines and television present innumerable images of healthy, attractive young adults laughing, exercising, dancing, playing sports, and generally having a good time. It is not surprising that children begin to associate youth with goodness and old age with decrepitude.

The media also report cases of elderly persons who are found living in isolation, abandoned by relatives, and who are so poor that they resort to eating things such as cat food. Such cases are news precisely because of their rarity. There are destitute older persons, but reports produced by the federal government indicate that the percentage of aged persons (those above sixty-five years of age) below the official poverty line is actually less than the impoverished percentage of the general population. The elderly poor tend to be persons who have been impoverished for most of their lives. According to Palmore, a minority of the elderly are actually lonely and deserted by relatives; surveys indicate that most older persons live within a thirty-minute drive of at least one child and have frequent contact with offspring. Also, fewer than 10 percent of those over the age of sixty-five report that they do not have enough friends. Only about 5 percent of the aged are in nursing homes at any one time.

Age and Ageism

Children and others hear many jokes told about the aged. Analysis indicates that these jokes are usually derogatory and concern topics such as sexual behavior, physical ailments, and cognitive deficits. As is the case with ethnic jokes, whether the jokes are funny depends on the listener. People seldom laughs at jokes that ridicule their own social group, unless they are told by other members of that group; persons who are racist or ageist, however, will find these jokes amusing and perhaps perceive them as being accurate.

Another factor in the ubiquity of ageism is that there may be less contact with the elderly in modern life than there was in the past. Families are more mobile today, and the extended family, in which several generations live in the same dwelling, is much less common. Many youngsters grow up in nuclear families without interacting extensively with aged persons; those with such limited contact are very likely to believe the ageist notions presented by others or by the media. In contrast, persons who have close relationships with several older individuals usually realize that most aged individuals are healthy and productive.

A 2000 study by Melinda Kennedy and Robin Montvilo indicated that children who have close contact with older adults on a regular basis are more likely to view the elderly in a positive manner than are children who have infrequent contact with the elderly. Degree of daily contact in adults did not seem to influence attitudes toward the elderly. Education to improve attitudes toward aging and the elderly therefore appears more useful in the young.

Ageism is not restricted to young persons or the uneducated. Ageist attitudes are often maintained even into old age. Ironically, this means that some older people may be prejudiced against their own age group. Resolution of this dilemma often focuses on these individuals’ refusal to label themselves as “old” or “elderly.” Age identification studies typically find that the majority of persons over the age of sixty-five identify themselves as being “middle-aged.” Even among subjects over eighty years of age, there is a considerable percentage (10 to 30 percent) who deny that they are “old.” This denial allows the aging person to maintain ageist beliefs. Conversely, ageism may contribute to the denial. If one believes that old persons are all senile, and one is obviously not senile oneself, then it follows that one must not be old.

Physicians and Ageism

Research suggests that ageist attitudes have been prevalent even among physicians and other professionals. Until the late twentieth century, geriatrics, the branch of medicine that deals with disorders and diseases of the aged, was not a popular specialty among doctors. Robert Butler’s Why Survive? Being Old in America (1975), demonstrates that the elderly have been given very low priority by physicians. In part, this is because physicians are paid more by private health insurers than they are by Medicare, the government health insurance program for people aged sixty-five and older. Additionally, younger adults are seen as having fewer health problems and taking less time to treat.

Less thorough physical examinations are given to older patients. Psychiatrists and clinical psychologists report very little contact with aged clients and may be prone to believe that older persons cannot really suffer from the same mental disorders that younger clients do or believe that they need to be treated with medication as a quick fix. Senility (an ambiguous term that is not a clinical diagnosis) is not a normal aspect of aging. Alzheimer’s disease and other organic brain syndromes afflict only a small proportion of the aged.

Most cases of confusion and disorientation in the aged are produced by drug intoxication or poor blood circulation to the brain. Nevertheless, such patients may be viewed as suffering from irreversible disorders and given little professional attention other than medication, which often exacerbates the symptoms. In spite of the negative stereotypes associated with aging, by the beginning of the twenty-first century, many physicians were going into geriatrics to meet the increasing demand occasioned by the aging of baby boomers born in the middle of the twentieth century.

Social Policy and Ageism

Varying beliefs and attitudes concerning the aging process have existed throughout the history of Western civilization. Indeed, in the Old Testament, longevity is granted to those who are faithful to God, and the elders are viewed as a source of great wisdom. Contemporary views toward aging, which typically are much more negative, have been influenced significantly by social policies. In an attempt to help end the Great Depression, the federal government initiated the Old Age and Survivors’ Program (Social Security) in 1935 to encourage retirement and reduce unemployment among younger workers. This program was intended to help support people though the last three to four years of their lives. Medicare and Medicaid began in the mid-1960s. These measures served to identify older Americans as a homogeneous group of persons in need of special aid from the rest of society; old age thus became a distinct stage of development.

As mentioned previously, studies have found that the aged, as a group, are as well off financially as the general population (although often living on fixed incomes). Nevertheless, most states and the federal government grant tax relief in various forms to all aged citizens, rich and poor. Many businesses such as pharmacies, restaurants, and hotels give discounts to elderly customers. Some banks offer higher interest rates on savings and free checking to “senior citizens.” Despite the fact that such practices might seem discriminatory against the young, there is little public protest. The general acceptance of these policies may be based on the mistaken belief that most aged persons are living in or near poverty.

Older persons often confront ageist attitudes when trying to obtain or continue employment. Widely held perceptions about the aged include the beliefs that they cannot learn new skills, miss many workdays because of illness, are prone to work-related accidents, and work significantly more slowly than do younger workers. Each of these notions is inaccurate, according to Palmore. Research involving a variety of occupations has determined that older persons are productive employees who actually have fewer accidents at work and miss fewer workdays than do younger workers. Although motor responses are slowed with age, most workers increase their productivity as a result of increased experience. Learning new skills does usually require slightly more time for older workers, but they can, and do, learn.

Despite these research findings, many employers have discriminated against older applicants and have refused to hire them because of their advanced age. In response, the US Congress passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (1967; ADEA), which outlaws age discrimination in hiring practices and sets seventy years as the age of mandatory retirement for most occupations. Fortunately, many companies have begun to realize the efficacy of older workers and have encouraged them to become employees. The “McMasters Program,” established by the McDonald’s fast-food restaurant chain, is one example of a business welcoming older applicants.

Gerontophobia

Gerontophobia—a fear of the elderly or of the aging process—is closely related to ageism. Believing that the aged are decrepit, lonely, and likely to be senile makes one fear growing older. Many companies produce products that play on this fear; indeed, these businesses have a financial stake in perpetuating gerontophobia. Commercial advertisements bombard consumers with messages indicating that to be old is to be ugly, and Americans spend enormous sums of money trying to look younger through cosmetic surgery, hair dye, “wrinkle removers,” and so on. People are even encouraged by friends to try to look young. Many gerontologists, however, view these efforts as costly and futile; these procedures can alter one’s appearance, but they do not stop or retard the aging process.

Gerontophobia may also reflect the association often made between old age and death. In the past, many babies and young persons died of infectious and communicable diseases. Infant mortality is much lower today, and life expectancy has increased dramatically. Therefore, death in old age is typical, and this fact may well increase the fear of growing old that many persons experience.

Ironically, holding ageist views may adversely affect one’s own aging. Indeed, many psychologists think that beliefs or expectations may be self-fulfilling. More simply put, an expectation may affect one’s behavior so that, eventually, one acts in accordance with the expectation. A common example involves sexual behavior. An ageist view persists that older persons are no longer sexually viable. Males, especially, seem to accept this notion and to worry about their sexual performance. If, for example, a sixty-year-old man does experience an inability to achieve orgasm during intercourse, he may attribute this “failure” to aging; he may then be extremely anxious during his next sexual episode. This anxiety may cause further sexual problems and preclude orgasm. Believing that he is now too old for sex, the man may even terminate coital activity. In contrast, if he attributes his initial problem to stress or some other transitory variable, then his future sexual behavior may be unimpeded, especially in a society that now has anti-impotence drugs such as Viagra available.

Changes in Ageism since 1960

The late 1960s were years of tremendous political and social unrest, as numerous minority groups clamored for greater power and fairer treatment. The aged had been delineated as a special-interest group with distinct needs. As the aged began to be defined solely by their age, a group consciousness began to emerge. Older persons, as a group, are more interested in politics and more likely to vote than are their younger counterparts. Politicians became aware of and became more sensitive to elderly issues. Out of this milieu, Robert Butler helped make these concerns salient by inventing the term “ageism.”

Ageism has been heightened by medical advances, as the concomitant increased life expectancy enjoyed in technologically advanced societies has altered views about aging. The life expectancy in the United States was more than seventy-eight years in 2011. Social Security and Medicare are thus available to people for more than a dozen years on the average. This places a financial strain on society and makes the elderly seem a burden.

As a higher percentage of people now live into old age, death has become increasingly associated with growing old. Without doubt, the fear of death causes some people to shun the elderly and to view them as being “different from us.” To admit that one is old is tantamount to confronting one’s own mortality squarely. Many gerontologists and sociologists argue that the United States is a death-denying society. Death is a taboo topic in most circles; the majority of deaths in the United States occur in institutions. The denial and fear of death may encourage ageist notions.

Palmore has developed a survey instrument consisting of twenty items to assess the types and prevalence of ageism in the United States today. The most frequent types of ageism found using this tool have been disrespect for older people and assumptions made about ailments and frailty caused by age. In an initial study, 77 percent of the elderly assessed reported having experienced ageism. This tool may be used to help reduce the prevalence of ageism in society by allowing it to be identified and by educating those in need.

Ageism may decline in the near future, simply because the median age of Americans is increasing. The baby boomers, a large and influential segment of society, are aging, and their impact is likely to be substantial. People in this age group have dramatically changed society as they have developed. When they were children, more schools had to be built, and education was emphasized. Their adolescence produced a rebellious period in the late 1960s and a lowering of the voting age. As young adults, they touched off a boom in construction, as many new houses were needed. As the baby boomers become senior citizens, their sheer numbers may cause a shift toward more positive attitudes toward the elderly. Also, more aged persons are maintaining good health and active lifestyles than in the past. This trend will undoubtedly help counteract stereotypical ideas about the infirmities of the elderly.

Bibliography

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