1. The example or statement of ageism that impacted me the most was the discussion of how older women are stereotyped more harshly than men. In all our time discussing older adults, we have never talked about the differences between genders and the specific impacts they can have. Hearing how older women were portrayed as witches and something to fear is so disheartening and such a disgusting stereotype. This portion is a reminder that there is always a split for people to be put against each other in every setting. By that, I mean that in every group where people are discriminated against, there is always an extra subgroup of discrimination and intersectionality that can occur.
2. The most interconnected example of literature was how Cruikskank discussed Lucilla Ball’s role in I Love Lucy and her having to play a younger woman. This discussion most connects to how Dovey created a character in her novel of a more eccentric and young-at-heart love interest for her characters. These two examples are connected because both showcase women acting younger or more eccentric to compensate for their older age and changes. Moreover, these moments of acting younger were only to please society’s view of aging women archetypes.
3. Dovey showcased an example of internalized ageism when she discussed how she wrote her story, including the archetype of aging adults. In doing so, she fell into society’s views of aging and the spectrum of aging adults.
4 . Cruikshank discusses the different native nicknames aimed at describing aging women and men. For example, older men were referred to as “geezers” in certain media and spaces. I have no experience describing older adults using a specific name. Aronson discusses the language used in aging through the use of sayings. She explains how there are terms such as “ old age is for sissies” that make it seem as if aging is something for the weak. Once again, I have no firsthand experience with this language. I have never really been surrounded by people who view old age in such a negative way.
5. The main issue from the reading that stuck out the most to me was how there are illnesses strictly related to aging adults. That can be difficult to handle because we are being educated on how there is not much research on the issues of older adults. Without the educational resources, it may be challenging to be as beneficial to older clients as possible. The easiest way to remedy this will be to make an effort to do as much research as you can to still provide for your clients. In those moments, it will be essential to be attuned to your clients’ needs and be able to remedy those needs as much as possible. Working with older adults will also force you to rid yourself of preconceived ideas of aging and how older adults are. This can be difficult because society has deeply ingrained ideas of aging and how to help aging adults. The easiest way to remedy this is to remain humble and open to letting go of bias.
Reference
Aronson, L. (2019). Elderhood: Redefining aging, transforming medicine, reimagining life (1st ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing.
Cruikshank, M. (2013). Learning to be old: Gender, culture, and aging (3rd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield.
Dovey, C. (2015, October 1). What old age is really like. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/what-old-age-is-really-like
I really appreciated your point about older women facing harsher stereotypes than men; it’s an important aspect of ageism that’s often overlooked. I also liked how you connected Cruikshank’s Lucille Ball example with Dovey’s characters, showing societal pressure on women to act younger. Your emphasis on staying humble and unlearning biases is a great reminder for working with older adults.
Ariana,
I am totally in agreement with your first answer except for one point. we talked a lot about the difference in aging between genders. In fact, Cruikshank’s entire. book talks about WOMEN who are getting older and she reiterates several times over the course of each chapter that the experiences of women are totally different than those of men. Sorry, but I’m not in agreement with that assessment. In fact, I get some pushback about using this text because she is so focused on gender.
Your second answer is exactly right, in that those two examples were good examples of the issue. I would have loved to hear more about why you thought they were good examples, more about what you thought they were trying to define about aging. Was this about internalized ageism or about stereotypes of aging? I couldn’t really tell.
I don’t understand your response to question 3 at all.
The fourth question was talking about how language perpetuates ageism. I would challenge your position that you have never been around language that perpetuates ageism. You are around it every day all the time, you just aren’t aware or paying attention. that was the whole point of that question.
I am also not sure I understand your point on question 5. The idea of why your took the class and what you are taking away from the readings seemed lost in your answer. I’m not sure what you mean by illnesses strictly related to older adults? You don’t give me any sense of where you got this in the readings or exactly what you are referring to. Are you surprised that arthritis is predominantly an older adult disease? Do you mean that you didn’t realize that heart disease is more prominent in older adults, just because they live longer? I am just confused by that response.
I totally agree with the idea of letting go of bias. But the important part of that response is that you have to realize the bias in the first place, right? I think it would have served you to spend a bit more time on the readings.
Dr P