What ’ s the Matter with Ageism ?
Sheree T . Kwong See | Age Friendly Edmonton
In the weeks before she died , my mother made a plea to me . “ Sher ,” she said , “ no one listens to us old people . If you can do anything to help us be heard , you do it .” At the time , I was on secondment from my professorship at the University of Alberta and serving as the government-appointed Seniors Advocate . In my travels across the province , many seniors echoed my mother ’ s sentiment and recounted to me their experiences with ageism . I was not surprised . I had been researching and teaching about ageism at the University for over twenty years and I knew the theories ; I knew the prevalence . It wasn ’ t until this exchange with my mother — one of those watershed moments — that I fully appreciated how much ageism matters . It really matters .
Gerontologist Robert Butler coined the term ageism in the 1960s to describe a form of bigotry he paralleled in importance to racism . Ageism refers to stereotyping and the ensuing prejudice and discrimination against people based on their age .
Although ageism can be experienced by younger people , the impacts are different , and arguably more serious , when experienced in older age .
The age stereotypes that drive ageism in later life can be positive , such as believing older age
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