Tom Ranocchia
Media 384
Prof. Caçoilo
May 2017
For my project, I have chosen to write an essay, for my
personal blog, on the topic of ageism. It’s not a glamorous topic and that’s
part of the problem. It gets sporadic media
attention, for example when a celebrity speaks out about her personal
experience of it – and yes, it’s always a “her” - but it’s not constantly in
our sights and that’s another part of the problem. And, if the topic of ageism makes
you feel a little squeamish, because ageism relates to OLD people and their OLD
bodies and OLD faces, well, you’re definitely not alone and that’s part of the
problem too.
I would like to see my essay reach young feminists, who have
not really considered the issue of ageism. I hope this will give them something
to think about.
I started looking at ageism with a naïve view of it. I
connected it simply to the idea of job loss and most often associated it with the
world of media where appearance is paramount. This week, for example, an
actress, Jamie Denbo, tweeted about being rejected for a part because she was
considered, at the age of 43, to be too old to play the wife of a 57-year-old.
This is an example of both ageism and sexism and it should not be trivialized.
However, my reading led me to understand that ageing is a
complex issue and one that is deeply embedded in the fabric of our society. Of
great surprise to me is the opinion, which is quite widespread among
gerontologists, sociologists and feminist scholars, that feminism has let down
older women with regard to ageism. This seems strange and unacceptable,
right? Yet the case they make is a
strong one. My blog post looks into this and in addition, proposes ways in
which young feminists can change the situation.
Let’s start with:
Why Should We Care
About Ageism?
We should care because discrimination based on age is
rampant in our communities and it takes many forms. Ageism occurs because our
society values youth, privileging the young at the expense of the old, and
creating inequality that clearly intersects with that based on race, class,
gender and sexuality.
In old age, people lose authority, status, and usually
income. They are marginalized and are vulnerable to violence, exploitation and
cultural imperialism. (Laws) They are frequently patronized or denied their
autonomy by those with whom they have contact. And a form of cultural
imperialism that emphasizes youth and vitality undermines their positive
contributions. (Calasanti 2006, 18)
We should care because of the unfairness with which these
people are treated and because we will one day join the group – if we are lucky
– that we currently discriminate against. Without change, what happens to the
elderly today, will be our fate in the future.
This brings us to:
Why Should Feminists,
In Particular, Care About Ageism?
While ageism affects both men and women, the situation is
clearly much worse for women who suffer from a “poisonous nexus of sexism and
ageism that disempowers [them] as they age” (Byrski, Loc 51) We are all aware
that in today’s society male power resides in money, status and authority while
the reality is that women are often valued for their appearance and
youthfulness. As their looks fade, their “power” diminishes and they become
less “visible”. In addition, they are often cast as becoming moody, depressed
and emotionally unstable. (Byrski Loc 69) As they age, they are also frequently
encouraged – or flat out pushed – into the role of servant to their families,
for example looking after grandchildren, a role promulgated in the patriarchal family.
This last point is very important because it requires young
feminists not just to consider ageism as it intersects with sexism, racism and
other categories of oppression, but to view it in terms of their own privilege
of youth. Yes, young women operate within a system constructed by men, but are
they actually complicit in treating older women as invisible or as sources of
unpaid labor for themselves and their families? (Macdonald 122)
If feminists will not tackle these issues and advocate for
older women who are oppressed by ageism, who will?
I was very surprised at the lack of feminist inquiry
regarding ageism. Extensive Google searching brought up mainly books and
articles written years ago. Information on websites tended to be shallow
jottings on subjects like “how to talk to older feminists” (which basically recommended asking them
questions about when they were young – a strategy that to me seemed ageist in
and of itself – how about asking about their current life?), and discussions
geared to the ageism faced by women in their forties and fifties. There was little to be found on the issues
facing much older women. My experience on this is supported by gerontologists
and sociologists who have noted that feminist scholarship and cultural
discourse have tended to focus on younger and middle-aged women and on the
process of ageing rather than tackling the issues facing old age head-on.
So,
Why Does Feminism
Neglect Ageism?
Many of the key issues to which feminism is devoted,
including reproductive rights and female independence tend to align more
naturally with a younger movement. However, in addition to this it must be
added that young feminists, like most people, are typically afraid of getting
old and want to remain separate from that which scares them. There is also
consternation about whether the ageing female body should be the subject of
study. Does it demean older women to focus on the biological factors of ageing,
rather than just the social and structural factors? And yet, to focus entirely
on age as a social construct can be very damaging to older women.
Which leads us to look at:
Perspectives on Appearance
and Aging
One of the most interesting articles that I read is called the Seductiveness of Agelessness by
Molly Andrews. Andrews scrutinizes
several theories of ageing, two of which I will mention here:
One theory suggests that the elderly can age “successfully”
if they engage in an active, fit lifestyle. This raises a number of questions:
What if you don’t have the financial resources and leisure time necessary for
this “successful” lifestyle? What if you have a disability? Or prefer to read
rather than take up tennis or golf? Are you then “failing” ageing? And doesn’t
“ageing successfully” just mean that you are willing to conform to the
expectations of our youth-obsessed society?
Another theory, “the mask of ageing,” assumes that there is
a distinction between our outward appearance and our inward “real selves.” You
are only as old as you feel is the catchphrase. Andrews takes this to task for
pushing onto the elderly – women in particular - the idea that they must try
and “pass” as being part of a younger, more youthful group. It further pushes
women to set themselves apart from others of the same age, meaning that they
too engage in ageism by declaring that while others around them are old, they
are actually still young. This destroys
the dignity of the self and replaces it with a secret self-loathing, and it is
ultimately bound to fail. (307)
The Media and Aging
My essay discusses how the media is complicit in discriminating
against older women, with a lack of representation in film, television (although
TV shows signs of improvement) and advertising.
Yet it is a simple truth that seeing ourselves, and our lives, reflected
in the products of popular culture is important – it is a form of flattery that
makes us feel acknowledged and included. For older women, the lack of
representation is yet another sign of invisibility and powerlessness. In some
media forms the situation can be even worse as it is deemed acceptable to shame
older women. Take for example a widely read “news” and entertainment site such
as dailymail.com which dissects the appearance of older women on a daily basis.
They may be shamed for gaining weight or looking tired or, if they are looking
good, they will be analyzed by “experts” to determine what “work” they might
have had done. The wife of the new French president, Brigitte Trogneux was
dissected in this way in an article this week that suggested that “extensions,
veneers and some very subtle plastic surgery” keep her looking youthful. (Daily
Mail)
It appears to be a no-win situation for older women.
So What Can Feminists
Do?
In order to change the status quo here are some ideas:
1.
Feminists need to understand that we can no
longer “write of gender, or generalize about ‘women’…as if they were all
middle-aged or younger any more than we can assume they are all white, middle
class, or heterosexual” (Calisanti, 25)
2.
Feminists need to be very aware of the privilege
that is granted to them by their youth and be careful not to use this power to
take advantage of older women.
3.
Feminists need to REALLY listen to the old and
the stories of their lives, not just as younger people, but as they are now. We
must be open to hearing about all of the intersections of oppression that they
face due to class, race, gender, sexuality and age.
4.
Feminists should reject theories of ageing that
deny the existence of age or ask the old to simply mimic the young. We should
encourage the old to see that there is value in the years they have lived and
we should appreciate that value.
5.
For those who are involved with media, there
must be a constant push against producers, editors, publishers and curators who
cannot see beyond the culture of youth. And,
6.
Feminists must strive to see positive content
and representation of older women across all media platforms.
