Coming Out Old: Issues of Ageism and
Privilege.
Resource Author: Dr.
1995
All of
the information below is from Dr. Fumish’s site
“Aging is
an experience shared by every living creature from the moment of birth. If we
are children, we are said to be "growing up." If we are youth, we are
"maturing." But if we are adults, we are "getting old." So
we begin the ritual of our culture: we spend time, money, and psychic energy
trying to "stay young." In the process, we deny our identity. We say
we are aging, or we are not as young as we used to be, or we are getting older.
We are reluctant to say, "I am old."
“Children
"grow up" eagerly looking forward to adult privileges. Young people
"mature" with the anticipation of sharing adult power. As adults,
however, we resist "coming out old" even to ourselves because it
often signals the end of both privilege and power, as well as the reluctant
recognition of our own mortality.”
“Ageism—and
its personal impact—is a reality shared by almost every old person, although
many of us are socialized not to recognize it. It has been defined as "the
systematic discrimination and oppression of people solely because they are
old."1 Illustrations
can be found on a continuum all the way from "irritating" to
"life demeaning."
“An old
man leaves his umbrella in the car and is called a "forgetful old
man." An old woman does not recognize the need for changes in societal
structures and is called "out of date." An old man takes his umbrella
with him in case of rain and is called a "fussy old man." An old
woman speaks out against the status quo and is called "disruptive and
feisty." Old men and women are voted out of public office solely on the
basis of their age. Same sex partners, one old and one younger, are dining out.
At the end of the meal the table server pointedly gives the check to the
younger of the two. At the grocery store, obviously able-bodied, white-haired
customers are asked if they need assistance with their groceries. Able old
people lose their jobs in order to make way for the young.”
“Ageism
is alive and well when all of one's being is defined by a single
characteristic—the number of years one has lived. Ageism is based on a deeply
ingrained, negative stereotype of what old people are really like. It is used
to rationalize discrimination and to confuse our discussions about rights and
privilege.”
Dorothy Jean Furnish, an old 74-year-old
professor emerita of Christian education at Garrett-Evangelical Theological
Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, (Written in 1995) To access it google Dorothy
Fumish and the title of this post,
No comments:
Post a Comment