Ageism refers to negative stereotyping and discrimination based on age (Butler, 1969), while gendered ageism targets older people at the intersection of age and gender, disproportionately affecting older women (Jyrkinen, 2014). Gendered ageism is prevalent in many forms and can occur at any age, fostering disadvantages in economic security, healthcare, and social visibility. It may manifest as comments on women’s roles, looks, sexual availability, commentary on pregnancy or menopause, and more (Jyrkinen, 2014). As we age, both men and women face increasing social invisibility and ableist discrimination, by assuming aging inherently involves disability (van der Horst & Vickerstaff, 2022). However, older women face additional barriers like “lookism”, the added pressure of looking younger and attractive (Brancu, 2023), and are 80% more likely than men to be impoverished at age 65 or older (Gutterman, 2022). Cultural narratives and institutional biases reinforce stereotypes, which individuals internalize, leading to negative self-perceptions and damaging self-construals.
Framing & Perspectives
Inspired by concepts of racism and social class discrimination (e.g., Malcolm X), Robert N. Butler coined the expression “ageism” to describe intergenerational prejudice (Ayalon et al., 2018, p. 2; Butler, 1969, p. 243; Edström, 2018). Arguing that the middle-aged group discriminates more often against younger and older age groups. The term “gendered ageism” was introduced by Itzin and Phillipson (1994, 1995) when studying workplace age barriers. Older men are not unaffected by ageism, especially in societies where appearance is highly valued (Ayalon et al., 2018, p. 35; Hearn, 1995), older women face the double-edged sword of discrimination based on both gender and age.
Human aging is both a biological and social-cultural phenomenon that impacts our behavioral, attitudinal, and emotional life experiences (Ayalon et al., 2018, p. 3). Neglecting individual aging differences leads to the overgeneralization of internalized stereotypes, as older adults act in accordance with how they think they are expected to behave (Ayalon et al., 2018, p. 2; Butler, 1969). Psychological theories like Stereotype Embodiment Theory and Modernization Theory suggest explanations for ageism (Ayalon, 2018). On an individual level, Stereotype Embodiment Theory argues that exposure to negative stereotypes leads to internalized biases (Ayalon et al., 2018, p. 5), which internalization leads to adverse effects on health, longevity, and cognitive performance (Ayalon et al., 2018, p. 5, Levy et al., 2002; Levy, Slade, & Kasl, 2002; Wurm, Tesch-Römer, & Tomasik, 2007). On a societal level, Modernization Theory suggests that the advancement of technology and medicine has caused older adults to lose their social status (Ayalon et al., 2018, p. 7). This theory identifies younger people as having the technological advantage obtained through modern education, disadvantaging older generations’ social, cultural, and behavioral power within society.
From a global perspective, women represent 55% of people over age 65, and is set to increase by 2050 (Gutterman, 2022). Women’s longer lives come with higher risks of poverty and disability, driven by systemic gender-based disadvantages, such as higher chances of experiencing domestic violence, discrimination in education, income, health care, inheritance, and political power. Such inequalities undermine women’s legal status and economic resources (Gutterman, 2022). Older women face political neglect throughout their lives, from unequal education as young girls to performing free labor as mothers, to lower wages in the workforce, to now struggling for access to needed care in old age (Carney, 2017; Hooyman et al., 2002; Freixas, Luque, & Reina, 2012).
Media is key in shaping perceptions of gendered ageism (Edström, 2018). George Gerbner (1973) and Gaye Tuchman (1978) first used the term symbolic annihilation to describe women’s underrepresentation and invisibility in the media. Edström (2018) states that “Most mainstream media seem to signal that aging and older people, especially women, are not newsworthy, interesting, or desirable.” If present in the media, older women are portrayed as ordinary, while older men are seen as experts and spokespersons. Media promotes narrow ideas of “successful aging” and “the perfect grandparent,” overlooking the diversity of older adults and reinforcing ableist narratives that equate health and well-being with physical independence (Langmann & Weßel, 2023). Rau and Vaupel (2014) suggest that it is not “the older you get, the sicker you get”, but rather “the older you get, the healthier you’ve been”.
Older women’s erasure from society becomes especially visible in the power dynamics of dating. Research has shown that there is a multifaceted gender bias towards age on online dating platforms for older generations. Only those who drink from the “fountain of youth” are considered worthy of love and companionship. Signs of aging such as wrinkles, gray hair, hair loss or glasses are often not visible in dating profiles, nor are pictures of older adults with disabilities such as wheelchairs, canes for the blind or walking aids (Gewirtz-Meydan & Ayalon, 2017). Older women are often misconstrued as having limited or non-existent sexuality, inhibiting the sexual diversity of their experiences and desires. Reinforcing these asexual cultural beliefs, medical and educational systems assume sexual decline with age (Ayalon et al., 2018, p.150).
Those living outside the gender binary face further hurdles to aging. Transgender, non-binary, and intersex people experience erasure from medical research, education, and practice in places like the United States (Lampe, 2022). The social-cultural assumption of asexuality can be harmful to LGBTQIAPN+ communities., emphasizing a heteronormative aging structure that forces some back into the “closet” (Ayalon et al., 2018, p.150; Hafford-Letchfield, 2008), and further enhances ableist perceptions of desexualizing individuals with disabilities regardless of age (Gibbons, 2016).
Relevance
How do we combat ageist biases? We must entrench our understanding of aging with concepts and representations of diversity. Providing people with diverse models of aging is pivotal to fighting ageist structures. Carney (2017) argues that population aging is shaped by women’s choices and oppression. They argue that tackling ageism through feminist concepts and approaches will push the world to change. To alter the social and cultural narratives surrounding aging we can: acknowledge the widespread effects and adopt evidence-based interventions to recognize, address, and reduce gendered ageism through enacting policies and campaigns to fight the effects of gendered ageism (Rochon, Kalia, & Higgs, 2021); engage children and young adults through education; and provide mentorship programs to develop reciprocal information sharing between generations (Brancu, 2023). Everyone ages and everyone can help fight the stigma of aging.
Keywords: Structures Of Power, Inequalities, Gender Politics, Sexism, Discrimination
Connected terms: Sexism, Hostile Sexism, Benevolent Sexism, Internalized Sexism, Body Liberation, Body Image, Racialized Beauty Standards, Fatphobia, Representation
References
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