Ageism: The Myth of Growing Old By Sherrie Larch

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Ageism: The Myth of Growing Old








Ageism: The Myth of Growing Old By Sherrie Larch

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Authors Notes:
This term paper is on the myths and side effects on Ageism and how it affects people as
they grow older putting unnecessary stresses on their lives. This paper is not in full term paper
format and is not a teaching tool on how to write a college/university term paper.










Ageism: The Myth of Growing Old By Sherrie Larch

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Introduction
This article is on ageism and its causes and effects on our lives as we age. Erdman
Ballagh Palmore states: The term Ageism, was coined in 1969 by Robert Butler, the first
director of the National Institute on Aging (E. Palmore, Ageism: Negative and Positive 1990).
Robert Butler defined ageism as bigotry no different than sexism or racism, where negative
stereotyping causes pain and discrimination against a group of people just because of who they
are. Ageism, unlike other bigotries, we will all experience at some point in our lives. Because we
all grow older, no one is exempt.
Our Society and Ageism
There are four basic factors in Western civilization that help promote the negative bias
and stereotyping of those who have reached what is viewed as old. This can vary from ethnic
group to ethnic group, and individual to individual.
The First Factor of Ageism:
The first factor is the fear of death. Western civilization separates death from the nature
life cycle, viewing as somehow unnatural, Eastern civilization and their philosophies, on the
other hand, have always viewed death as just a part of a continuous cycle of life. In this process,
which is called reincarnation, death is viewed as part of the process of rebirth and is not feared.
So in Eastern society aging is not feared and the elderly are not ignored or put in a negative light,
they are seen as wise elders and are deeply respected. The opposite is true in Western civilization
and in its philosophy. Kastenbaum (1979) stated: As death is feared, old age is feared; death
and old age are viewed as synonymous in American society. Butler also (1969) states:
Ageism reflects a deep-seated uneasiness on the part of the young and middle-aged. A
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personal revulsion to and distaste for growing old, disease, disability; and a fear of
powerlessness, uselessness, and death (The Theoretical Basis of Ageism, quote from
Kastenbaum and Butler: http://www2.webster.edu/~woolflm/ageismtheory.html). The elder in
Western civilization is seen as a burden and reminder of our bodys mortality.
The Second Factor of Ageism:
The second factor is the media including: movies, television, commercials, music videos,
magazines, books, and even the evening news. Stephanie Pappas (2011) states: "I f you're over
50 and pick up a copy of Vogue magazine, don't expect to see someone like you peering back
from the cover. Despite having a readership that's one-fifth women over 50, the magazine has
only featured one woman over 40 on the cover in the past year Halle Berry, then 43, who
appeared on the September 2010 issueA new study finds that this absence of older women
isn't limited to Vogue, or even to magazine covers: An analysis of editorial and advertising
images reveals that despite proportions of older readers ranging as high as 23 percent, fashion
magazines portray women over 40 sparingly, if at all. Even in magazines geared toward aging
baby boomers, the images collectively present a thin, youthful, wrinkle-free ideal that's
impossible to maintain later in life (Pappas, S, Magazines' Youthful Ideal Threatens Real
Women's Sexuality: http://www.livescience.com/14562-fashion-magazines-vogue-older-women-
sexuality.html). Youth and beauty are portrayed as being all important, a persons worth is based
on their youthful appearance and physical beauty, not the character of their personality, mind,
and soul. The older a character on a movie or television show is, the more likely they will be
portrayed in a negative way, especially women. Usually the older female will be portrayed as the
villain who is jealously going after the much younger heroine of the story, because she wants her
life and to regain her youth by destroy another. Magazines play with our fear of growing older.
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By telling us that as we age, we will lose our beauty and sexuality. And in turn lose our value in
society to be loved and respected. So they promote and advertise all kinds of costly beauty
products, procedures, and plastic surgeries. Many procedures with dangerous side effects, like
Botox and skin peels. Or surgeries that can permanently scar a person or kill them; turning a
once healthy forty or fifty something into a corpse. Even greeting cards have to get into the act of
degrading the aging process. Some birthday cards turn a happy birthday into a horrible sarcastic
joke. This emphasis on youth not only affects how older individuals are perceived but also how
older individuals perceive themselves.
The Third Factor of Ageism:
The third factor is Americas emphasis on productivity. Butler (1969) stated: It should
be noted that productivity is narrowly defined in terms of economic potential. Both ends of the
life cycle are viewed as unproductive, children and the aged. The middle-aged are perceived as
carrying the burdens imposed by both groups. Children, however, are viewed as having future
economic potential. I n a way, they are seen as an economic investment. Economically, older
adults are perceived as a financial liability. This is not to say that older adults are
unproductive. However, upon retirement, the older adult is no longer viewed as economically
productive in American society and thus devalued (The Theoretical Basis of Ageism, quote
from Kastenbaum and Butler: http://www2.webster.edu/~woolflm/ageismtheory.html). The sad
fact is even if the older adult is working and healthy they are still viewed as being less
productive, especially here in America. A stereotype that is blind to the truth and that devalues
people that are still very productive, both economically and socially.
The Fourth Factor of Ageism:
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The fourth factor is how medicine and science have handled research in the aging
process. The researchers focus on ageism that is based on what psychologists call prescriptive
prejudice. Michael Hotchkiss (2013) states: "I nstead of describing what old people supposedly
are in reality, it 'prescribes' what others think old people should be," Fiske said. "Older people
who 'violate' these 'prescriptions' are punished by those who discriminate against them; older
people who adhere to them are rewarded with sympathy and pity (Hotchkiss, M, Researchers
Chart New Path for Study of Ageism: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-path-
ageism.html). Most studies in gerontology in the past have been poorly done. Done in long-term
care institutions where the studies were cheap, easy and lazily done. But in reality only a very
small percentage of the elderly are in these types of institutions (about five percent.) These are
the elderly that are sicklier than the rest of the population, due to many factors not just the aging
process. So the research was not wide enough to be valid or fair. All these studies really did was
add to the long list of fears, stereotypes, and negative bias against growing older.
Myths and Facts of Aging
The number one myth against aging and the elderly is that most are suffering from
sickness or disability. Nearly half of Americans believe that illness and disability are the number
one problem of those over sixty-five. That getting older makes you frailer and more open to
diseases and injuries than your younger counterparts. As we get older our quality of life, it is
believed, goes from health to suffering. That we all will end up in a long-care institution (a
nursing home) at some point in our late adulthood, to suffer through a long death. (Five Myths of
Aging: http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/aging/the-five-myths-of-aging). The fact is that
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about seventy-eight percent of people over sixty-five are healthy enough to engage in normal
everyday life activities and that only about five percent of the elderly are in long-care
institutions. These are the worst of the worst, which may be suffering from an age related
diseases like Alzheimers, but also may be suffering from genetic diseases or health problems
due to past lifestyle choices.
Mental decline and mental illness are two other health myths held against the elderly.
Mental decline is viewed as something that just happens as we age, a normal part of aging that
we must endure and suffer through. (Five Myths of Aging:
http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/aging/the-five-myths-of-aging). But most of us will retain
our normal mental abilities, though they may slow a bit, including the ability to learn and
experience new things until our lives end. Unless we develop a disease that effects our brain
function. Mental illness is also falsely viewed as a common problem with growing older. But
only about two percent of people over sixty-five are institutionalized for psychiatric illness. In
fact mental illness is much more common in the young.
Loss of sexuality is another myth of aging, that as we age we loss the need for sexual
intimacy. And if we do not it is somehow morally perverse, that we are dirty old men and women
who have somehow missed the message of Western civilization that sexuality ends when
procreation does. (5 Myths About Sex and Aging: http://www.aarp.org/relationships/love-
sex/info-05-2011/sex-myths.html). Sadly even well-educated medical professionals seem to buy
into this conservative view of sexuality. But in reality we were created as sexual beings and will
die the same. Most healthy couples still have satisfying sexual relations into their eighties and
even nineties. Sexual intimacy plays an important role in the lives of both men and women,
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offering love and closeness and most feel that sex after sixty is as satisfying as or more satisfying
than when they were younger.
Another myth of aging is that those that are elderly live in a state of isolation and
uselessness. But the majority of the elderly are not socially isolated or useless. Most live with
spouses or family, and if they do live alone they keep close contact with family and friends. Most
feel they have purpose in their lives, having jobs or careers, volunteering in their communities,
having a religious faith (believing in some higher being and purpose) and feeling loved and
needed by their spouses, family circle, friends, and community. Though there is a decline over
time of social activities as we age, it is not as dramatic of a change as we may make it out to be.
Some of us will have little to no change in our social ties to the world or the social activities
these ties provide. Some of the social decline we experience is by choice or being pushed out of
things because of how old we are. Being told you are too frail or too old to do this or that can
help put you into a forced isolation that has nothing to do with your biological age; just social
pressure to conform to a stereotype.
The Effects of Ageism
Melissa Dittmann (2003) states: in a survey of 84 people ages 60 and older, nearly
80 percent of respondents reported experiencing ageism--such as other people assuming they
had memory or physical impairments due to their age. The 2001 survey by Duke University's
Erdman Palmore, PhD, also revealed that the most frequent type of ageism--reported by 58
percent of respondents--was being told a joke that pokes fun at older people. Thirty-one
percent reported being ignored or not taken seriously because of their age (The Gerontologist
(Vol. 41, No. 5) Dittmann, M, Fighting Ageism:
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http://www.apa.org/monitor/may03/fighting.aspx). Like all bigotries, ageism comes with many
emotional and even physical affects. A person who is shunned and discriminated against will feel
stressed. Feeling isolated and alone, they may feel like they have no place in the world, no
purpose. They may adopt the very views that are used against them. Im too old to be doing
this or I should be acting may age. They will slowly pull away from things they once enjoyed
and even people they love being around, trying to fit into the stereotype that is put on them.
Social interactions and activities may be completely avoided. They may suffer low self-esteem,
shame, self-hatred, drug and alcohol abuse, and in extreme cases severe depression and suicide.
Melissa Dittman (2003) states: Not only are negative stereotypes hurtful to older people, but
they may even shorten their lives, finds psychologist Becca Levy, PhD, assistant professor of
public health at Yale University. I n Levy's longitudinal study of 660 people 50 years and older,
those with more positive self-perceptions of aging lived 7.5 years longer than those with
negative self-perceptions of aging (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol. 83, No.
2) Dittman, M, Fighting Ageism: http://www.apa.org/monitor/may03/fighting.aspx).
Counteracting Ageism
Changing societys views on aging is one of the best ways of counteracting ageism.
Rodeheaver (The Gerontologist 1990) suggests that in order to counteract ageism, changes
must be made in the system which perpetrates it beliefs. This includes the media, culture, and
institutions such as government, human services and corporate America (Curriculum Module
on Ageism, University of California at Berkeley:
http://cssr.berkeley.edu/research_units/casas/links_details_curricula_ageism.html). We also
should be aware of our own deep down prejudices against the aging process and the elderly, and
find their root cause. Interacting with the elderly is one way to overcome our own personal
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feelings and biases against growing old. The elderly can also take action by staying active in
their community and government (not becoming invisible.) We should remember that we are all
growing older, and will have to deal with the effects of ageism and its negative stereotypes, at
some point of our lives. How will we handle it? This is something truly to think about.
Conclusion
Western civilization has to change its views on aging and the elderly. We must remember
the Fifth Commandment Honor your father and your mother (Exodus, Torah: Jewish Bible).
When we honor our parents we honor God, and I believe it means our elderly neighbors also.
Somehow we have lost the respect that once was held for the elders of the tribe. Eastern
civilization still views the elder as a respected member of the community, the wise one to go to
for help and knowledge. This is the model we should emulate here in America instead of treating
the wise elder like something that can be thrown away, ignored or disrespected.
Aging is a natural process we all are experiencing, treating it as something horrible and
unnatural that must be suffered through, is treating life in a very narrow way. Yes, there are
changes in our bodies over time, but attitude has a lot to do with our health, mental faculties and
happiness as we age. If you are young in spirit, always looking to the future and learning new
and exciting things. Not one to back down from the process of life, a person that never believes
youre too old to do something or that you most act your age. Your life will be very
different than the person who sees the aging process as a sickness and growing old as a future of
darkness and suffering. We do not see the world as it is, we see the world as we are (The
Jewish Talmud).