Where it begins
From the minute we are born the ageing process begins and frequent judgements are made about our age as we go through life. For example, there is an age norm for when babies walk and talk. There’s an age norm for how tall you are, where comments such as “you’re tall for your age” are made to children and this continues until you reach the dreaded “you/they look good for their age”!
Negative Age Stereotypes
The negative stereotypes related to age can be very harmful, particularly when they create discriminatory language and behaviour. Stereotypes can be taken as truths but the problem with ageist stereotypes is they are reinforced from a young age where children and young adults learn how to be ageist, which continues as they age. Ageism is unique in that we all age therefore when negative age rhetoric and beliefs are evident, it means we are discriminating against our future selves (Finema, 2015) in a way that isn’t possible with other groups in society. Self-ageism is another anomaly where we discriminate against ourselves when we believe can’t do things because of our age and use the “Too old for..” phrase, which in turn creates a self-fulfilling prophecy as we prove to ourselves and others that growing old is a barrier to aspects such as physical and cognitive ability.
By the time we reach middle age we have formed deeply rooted views about what being old means, affecting the way we behave and how others behave towards us, which Levy (2009) calls the Stereotype Embodiment Theory. My recent research has identified that when we have a positive attitude to ageing we still retain an interest in learning and career development, therefore living and working in an environment where growing old is seen as positive and older people are valued, will support older people with happier, more fulfilled lives.
Ageism
Ageism needs to be tackled at different levels: societal, individual and organisational. The portrayal of older people in the media and the obsession with age related references needs to change. Why does it matter how old someone is? Ageism needs to be called out in the same way that racism and sexism is. At an individual level, we need to challenge our negative ageist thoughts about ourselves and others and not see ”age”, in the same way we don’t need to see “colour” or “gender”. Finally, organisations need to be aware of ageism in the workplace and have meaningful policies to confront it. Everyone needs to ‘be the change’ when it comes to creating a caring and fair society.
How can Coaching help?
Coaching is an ideal way to support individuals who would like help with challenging their perceptions of ageing, particularly when it’s holding them back from the things they could do and my coaching and life experience will help anyone who wants to quieten their internal ageist. I can also help organisations with creating appropriate age diverse policies and support older workers who still have more to give, so get in touch today.
Here’s my number if you want to call: 07595 917634
References:
Finema, S. (2011) Organizing age. Oxford University Press.
Levy, B. (2009) ‘Stereotype embodiment: A psychosocial approach to ageing’, Current directions in psychological science, 18(6), pp. 332-336.
