Age Bias and Ageism
Are you familiar with these two words? Do they impact us at all? If so, how? And does it matter? Or is it just another fashionably faddish gripe by a few discontented women???
Age bias and ageism do impact us. In every aspect of our life. Daily. Age bias and ageism impacts all people but women take the larger share of negative impact.
And it matters.
I will outline how and why it matters-to you, me and all of us.
Definitions to Get Us Knowing
Ageism: is discrimination on the grounds of a person’s age. It involves stereotyping. It can be directed at older adults and young people alike (and anyone in between for that matter)…
Age Bias: is the pre-judging of someone’s capacity or ability because of their age, and therefore favoring one age group over another-particularly the workplace).
Lookism: is prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person’s appearance.
Ableism: is discrimination on the grounds of a person’s ability and, in particular, preferring people with abilities which conform to the dominant social construct of ‘normality.’
The Razor Sharp Edge of Age Bias
The razor sharp edge of age bias is sharpened by lookism and amplified by ableism. It cuts both ways. Too young. Slice. Not young enough. Cut. Too old. Slice. Not old enough. Cut.
What we often don’t expect when we talk about ageism generally is that the age bias affects younger women and all ages in between equally. It’s not just older females!! We all too quickly presume that ageism is about older people-and older women in particular. It is. But it is sadly much more than that.
The Younger Female Adult:
The age bias for younger women colludes with lookism, sexism and gross stupidity. At worst younger women are obviously meant to be ‘hot babes’ and nothing more-their ability to comment or participate meaningfully on financial matters, politics, economics, business, technical or strategic issues-or for that matter most matters-is considered gratuitous. They are sidelined, condescended to and ignored.
The Older Female Adult:
Age bias for ‘older women’ is in cahoots with ableism and lookism. Ableism judges our ability to ambulate, hear, see, speak and be in what society has determined to be the normal range (and for that matter leaving out a significant proportion of the population-thank you very much-who have a very different and equally life giving norm).
Ageism for the older cohort often means enforced retirement, being passed over for promotion, reduction in training and upskilling opportunities and again, condescension.
Ableism and Lookism
Ableism and lookism are both toxic and insulting. Whatever your age, as a female in our society you’re more than likely to have experienced the negative impacts of both in addition to ageism.
Lookism is the modus operandi of advertising-preferring the young and beautiful and deliberating discriminating against, or avoiding entirely, images of the older and/or the less abled.
It is all pervasive and insidious-“you’re looking fantastic” is a great compliment!? Right?
Perhaps.
Depends on the definition of fantastic.
Barbie like?
Iron man ready?
Pearly white even smile?
Full mani and pedicure perfect?
Shall I go on?
The pressure on women in general, and older women in particular, to have hair which is lustrously-coloured and shampoo-add worthy in bounce and style is enormous. Not to mention vertiginously dangerous high heels and cripplingly tight skirts, amongst other things.
Laughter lines and menopausal symptoms? Wrinkles, dare I even suggest it? You are ‘over the hill’ and very obviously you have nothing to contribute here (wherever ‘here’ may be).
And Here’s the Thing
As with all isms, the ageism bias can be something we have unconsciously embodied. We don’t realise the toxic weapon we are wielding against ourselves, in the things we say, do and aspire to.
By critically judging the way we look; constantly negatively evaluating our professional performance and questioning how we live, we are often conforming to the age bias.
The language is all too familiar…
“I am too old for that.”
“I’m not old enough for that yet.”
Enough.
Enough stereotyping. Enough age bias. Indeed it is enough that media and advertising, social media and all too often literature, religion and pop culture all conspire to amplify the message that young is best and old is to be feared and dreaded. To also believe this of ourselves both negatively impacts our mental and our physical well-being.
Moreover this negative embodied message has a huge impact on our potential longevity.
It turns out that we can inadvertently be our own worst enemies.
Meet Leonora and see what can happen when age bias is NOT applied against you
Leonora, who is 78 years old, is employed as an aged care giver.
Yes, you read correctly. Lee is the oldest caregiver EMPLOYED by an aged-care provider in Australia. A whopping 50% of her clients are younger than her⁉️
Lee is also a published author and horticulturalist with a flourishing garden. She is a mother, grandmother and great grandmother.
And her reason for continuing to work in a high stress job requiring a lot of energy and responsibility? “I enjoy making a contribution.”
So why do we put up with it ⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️
Duped by the crippling subliminal messaging of advertising. Cowered by the policies and procedures in the workplace which negatively impact employees who have decades of valuable experience.
The age bias negatively influences and impacts the whole fabric of society. And therefore standing up to it is a call to consider our own ageist rhetoric. To understand and stand up to the embodied ageism which negatively impacts what we can/can’t and should/shouldn’t be doing, at whatever age.
To break out of the artificial cage in which ageism imprisons us-both as individuals and as a society.
Let’s pull together on this one✅✅✅ whichever generation you identify with.
Ageism and Age Bias is detrimental to ALL OF US.
Meet Audrey who, at aged 95, read her grandson’s PhD thesis. Cover to cover! Then asked him searching questions.
Conclusion
Ageism and age bias subtly, and at times not so subtly, undermine who we ALL are. No matter what age you or I are today, yesterday or tomorrow ageism negatively impacts YOU, ME and US.
Calling out ageist and age biased behavior and comments is something we can all do. Because if we don’t, what we are silent about will continue and what we tolerate creates negatively to the future culture for us all.
It is only when we collectively begin to address the insidious and corrosive presence of ageism and age bias throughout society together and, when we catch our own embodied ageist thoughts, and compassionately reframe them, that change will happen.
Let’s do this together.
Further Reading:
Don’t Be Caged By Your Age Podcast Series
Interview Leone-Ruth Acland EP 16 Dissolving Gendered Ageist Narratives
Ashton Applewhite | Addressing Ageism: Building a Better World for All Ages | Talks at Google
Ageism, Feminism and Sexism with Jane Caro
Books:
Ageing Sideways by Jeanette Leardi
This Chair Rocks by Ashton Applewhite
Ageism Unmasked by Tracey Gendron
