On Ageism and Three Real Examples of Age Discrimination

Oct 6

On Ageism and 3 Examples of Age Discrimination

Today is National Ageism Awareness Day! Because it’s still socially acceptable AND because you can be ageist toward yourself, ageism is the the most widespread form of discrimination. It’s a personal, cultural, and institutional problem with costs to one’s mental and physical health and our economic system. By 2034 there will more older adults 65 and older in the United States than kids. By 2050, our population of older adults will be double what it was in 2012. If you’re not in that age group now, you might be in it by the time 2050 roles around. But here’s the thing about ageism – it affects anyone of any age because we’re all aging. (and tweens are being targeted with anti-aging rhetoric!)

The American Society on Aging defines Ageism as: stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) toward others or oneself based on age. I’d like to share with you three examples of age discrimination and the types of ageism involved.

Example of age discrimination #1 You’re Old, You’re Doomed!

I attended an in-person pain and biomechanics course back in July, and we broke out into small groups to discuss certain topics over the course of the weekend. During one discussion, the physical therapist next to me was telling a story about an older adult of about 60 years coming into his office for the first time and describing multiple pain points. He laughed us he told us that he responded to her, “What do you expect? It’s what happens with age.” . . . Is it? He’s alluding to a cultural belief that older adults inevitably fall apart. Yes, older age is correlated with aches and pains. But his comment will have you assume that age causes aches and pains. If that were true, every single person over the age of 60 would be in pain, and we know that’s not the case. We know that plenty of people in their 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s experience a variety of aches and pains at some point. And finally, we know that physical activity reduces inflammation, preserves metabolic health, maintains muscle mass, and increases bone density. Isn’t it possible that older adults experience more aches and pains because of cumulative years of physical inactivity?

The bigger piece of discrimination here lies in the way he responded. In an effort to reduce catastrophization of his patient’s pain symptoms (which does lead to better pain reduction outcomes) he belittled her complaints entirely and gave her no hope. This is an example of interpersonal ageism: comments based on age stereotypes that take place between two people. It also includes institutional ageism: discrimination against older people within larger systems, in this case, the healthcare system.

Example of age discrimination #2: 70 Year Olds Can’t Do Backflips

A client shared with me an exchange with his grandson:

“Grandpa, can you do a backflip?”

“No, I can’t do a backflip.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m 77!”

Is that why? Here’s a 75 year old doing backflips. Sure, being 77 years old makes it less likely that you will ever do a backflip if you haven’t been doing it already. But being 77 isn’t why you can’t do a backflip. You can’t do a backflip because you’ve never trained for one. I’m 39 and I can’t do a backflip. It has nothing to do with my age and everything to do with how I have and haven’t trained. Why does this explanation have to change as we get older? This is an example of internalized ageism: harmful beliefs based on age that we direct toward ourselves. Becca Levy writes an entire book about how directly this type of ageism negatively impacts our behavior and our health.

Example of age discrimination #3: Don't Lift That!

A client of mine, 59 years old at the time, shared with her family that she lifted 70 pounds off the floor in our session. These were some of the responses she got: “Wow, that’s too much!” “I can’t even do that” (remarked a 30-year-old) “Should you even be lifting that much weight?”

Sexism plays a role in these responses but we’ll focus on age discrimination. Saying 70 pounds is too much, or questioning the value of lifting that much implies there is a weight-lifting limit and a strength training limit for someone of a certain age. Older adults are seen as people who need to be protected, with fragile and incapable bodies. Assuming that a 30-year-old should inherently be able to do more than a 59-year-old implies that age alone is the determining factor of strength. Physiologically, we know that training is the largest factor to influence a person’s physical performance.

This is an example of implicit ageism: in my opinion, this is the hardest to fight because it's unconscious. Our unconscious biases about age (about everything) may be in direct conflict with what we consciously believe. These beliefs are so deeply ingrained we don't even notice them, especially since we may outwardly believe otherwise. They require intentional reflection to uncover. This is a big one -- I'll cover it in more depth soon.

Disclaimer:

Age (aka time) does impact our biology and physiology. Humans aren’t bionic, and ageism awareness isn't advocating that one ignores the wealth of information we have about age-related decline. Things do slow down as we get older. But it’s problematic when we assume that age (again, time) is the ONLY factor determining our health. The degree to which we slow down and the rate at which we slow down are not determined by our age. There is plenty of research available, but you don’t need research to see older adults who are jumping, climbing, trying new things, getting onto the floor, and remembering everything.

What we can all do to avoid being living examples of age discrimination:

Start with a simple bias check: take a look at this video I posted. How does this make you feel? Do you cringe? Do you cheer? What reservations and beliefs do you have when watching this? Just like any other prejudice, understanding our own reactions is the very first step.
Now, sharpen your focus to start noticing older adults who behave in ways you wouldn’t expect – who are still physically active, who are joyful and positive, who have a sharp memory, who are independent and independently thinking. They’re everywhere.
Finally, start to notice your internal dialogue around aging. How do you talk to yourself about yourself as it relates to your age? How do you talk to yourself about your parents? What crosses your mind when you’re behind someone on the street walking with a walker or when you have to repeat yourself because an older adult you’re talking to is hard of hearing
Remember to be patient and open-minded! Just like any deeply ingrained bias, this is a constant process requiring you to confront your deepest beliefs, bring to awareness unconscious beliefs, and reframe how you see the world.

If you need more inspiration, follow @themobmembership on Instagram where I re-post examples of older adults living their best lives.

Alia Bisat