Ageism Continues to Endure

Age-Based Discrimination in Canada Cannot be Overlooked

Graphic Graeme Shorten Adams

The other night, my 21-year-old boyfriend complained to me about being in the third decade of his life.

According to him, people only have six real fulfilling decades to live, and by the time people are in their 20s they’ve already experienced almost half of them.

When I told him that looking at age that way is discriminatory and ageist he laughed, saying that unlike sexism and racism, ageism is a ridiculous notion.

This exchange encapsulates one of the major issues with ageism—people simply don’t take it seriously. Most age groups receive unfair treatment based on their age, and the fact that people are largely unaware of this treatment only exacerbates the situation, allowing it to become ingrained in society.

In the media, the elderly tend to be portrayed as creepy, half-witted or just plain grouchy, while young adults and teenagers are shown as unruly delinquents, unappreciative brats or people utterly unable to make rational decisions.

News, TV shows or even cartoons focused on juvenile delinquency or elderly pedophilia create damaging stereotypes for age groups just as they do for gender and racial groups. These stereotypes become internalized, and some may choose to act a certain way based on how they understand their age group is supposed to behave.

When individuals act on these damaging stereotypes it encourages ageism by providing a reason to dislike a certain age group.

The ensuing discrimination leads to bigger social problems, like the high number of unemployed senior citizens in Australia, or the fact that a recent report by Revera and the International Federation on Ageing found that 79 per cent of Canadians believe seniors 75 and older are seen as being less important than other members of society.

According to the report, 63 per cent of Canadians over 66 have been treated unfairly as a result of their age.

Roles based on age have been around for a long time, and while some of them, like the authority adults have over young children, make sense—there needs to be a balance between authority and respect.

Expressions like “respect your elders” show that valuing older people has been historically important, but the level of respect that older people were once given is fading. Rather than being looked up to, elderly people are often taken advantage of by those they encounter.

Ageism extends to the medical system as well; there is a growing shortage of doctors specializing in geriatrics, which focuses on health care of the elderly. It’s something that can arguably be linked to the ageist attitudes that inform our culture: Doctors aren’t attracted to the field of geriatrics, and the result is a severe shortage in specialists trained to address the ailments of senior citizens.

Ageism will only lead to greater problems as the population continues to age and must be taken seriously and properly addressed. As data from Statistics Canada has suggested, population aging will become increasingly pronounced as baby boomers move into retirement and our birth rate continues to fall short of the replacement line.

As popular ideas about age groups evolve, ageism grows and becomes more complex. The world has changed more in the past century than it has over hundreds of years, and as 50 becomes the new 65 intolerance can become more pronounced.

It was once accepted that young people were of less value, but with movies like 1953’s The Wild One and 1985’s The Breakfast Club the rights of younger people became fixtures of pop culture, serving as a venue to promote equality between age groups.

The Who’s “My Generation” is another example of this. Released in 1965, the song speaks out against ageism towards young people, though with lyrics like “I hope I die before I get old,” the song could be considered ageist itself.

The reality is that each age group expresses ageist sentiments towards others. When was the last time you made a comment that could be considered rude towards someone older or younger than you?

Is commenting on your grandmother’s technologically challenged email an acceptable, even loveable act, or is it actually an act of discrimination? The line is blurry.

The bottom line is that ageism is present in society, and is dangerous when taken to extremes. We see it every day, towards the young, elderly and even middle-aged. But if we all maintain a basic level of respect for those around us, issues of age discrimination and ageist behaviour can be remedied.

Being aware of stereotypes related to age is key. By trying not to make assumptions about a person’s personality or skills based on their age, we can move towards ending ageism. What is perhaps most important is that people begin to take this discrimination seriously.

Ageism must not be overlooked.