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OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2020 • IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT hOmE & lIfESTYlE PAGE 9
Ageism is not funny
BOOKS ON AGING AND AGEISM
BY mElISSA mARTIN, Ph.D., lPCC-S “From childhood on, we’re barraged
by messages that it’s sad to be old. That
By writing humorous columns and wrinkles are embarrassing, and old peo-
articles about aging, I encourage oldsters ple useless.” Author Ashton Applewhite
(including myself) to laugh and poke fun at believed them too—until she realized where
the changes that accompany our birthdays. this prejudice comes from and the damage
However, ageism is not funny. it does.
Betty White, an actress who is as sassy Ageism is defined as the stereotyping, prejudice, Her book, This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto
and playful as the day is long, celebrated and discrimination toward people on the basis Against Ageism (2016), explains the roots of
her 97th birthday in 2019. And Hollywood of age. Now, 50 years after the enactment of the ageism in history. It looks at ageism in the
,
better not try ageism with her. You’ve got Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 workplace and the bedroom and critiques the
to watch her “I’m Still Hot” music video on age discrimination is still commonly accepted. portrayal of olders as burdens to society. The
© VectorMine, Bigstock.com.
YouTube. You go Golden Girl! author concludes with a rousing call to action.
According to a 2018 AARP report, 64 per- age does not predict ability or performance, Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s
cent of women said they’d been the target employers often fall back on precisely the Currents and Flourishing As We Age (2019),
of or had witnessed age discrimination. ageist stereotypes the ADEA was enacted by Mary Pipher, examines the cultural and
Ageism is a term coined by Robert Butler to prohibit. After 50 years of a federal law developmental issues women face as they
(founding director of the National Institute whose purpose is to promote the employ- age. Pipher is a 71-year-old psychologist.
on Aging) in 1969. He described it as prej- ment of older workers based on ability, age The 2020 Aging in America Conference
udicial attitudes toward older people, old discrimination remains too common and (sponsored by The American Society on
age, and the aging process; discriminatory too accepted.” Aging) was held in Atlanta, Georgia, March
practices against older people; and institu- According to the US Equal Opportunity 24-27. The American Society on Aging is an
tional practices and policies that perpetuate Commission, almost a quarter of all claims association of diverse individuals bound by
stereotypes about older people. filed by workers are related to age-based a common goal: to support the commitment
The Age Discrimination in Employment discrimination (www.eeoc.gov). and enhance the knowledge and skills of
Act of 1967 (the federal law that protects The World Health Organization (WHO) those who seek to improve the quality of
workers and job applicants 40 and over formally defines ageism as the stereotyp- life of older adults and their families (www.
from age-based bias in employment) had ing, prejudice, and discrimination towards asaging.org).
its 50th anniversary in 2018. But, ageism people on the basis of age. In 2016, a global “We contain all the ages we have ever
lives on in the USA. campaign to combat ageism began to per- been.”— Anne Lamott. ISI
A 2018 report by the Equal Employment colate. Ageism happens around the globe
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) proclaimed as well. Melissa Martin, Ph.D, is an author, columnist, educator,
“Despite decades of research finding that and therapist. She lives in Ohio.
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