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‘I know it exists … but I haven't experienced it personally’: older Canadian men's perceptions of ageism as a distant social problem
- Authors:
- CLARKE Laura Hurd, KOROTCHENKO Alexandra
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 36(8), 2016, pp.1757-1773.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This paper examines how older men perceive, experience and internalise ageist prejudice in the context of their everyday lives. The draw on in-depth interviews with 29 community-dwelling Canadian men aged 65–89. Although one-third of our participants were unfamiliar with the term ageism, the majority felt that age-based discrimination was prevalent in Canadian society. Indicating that they themselves had not been personally subjected to ageism, the men considered age-based discrimination to be a socially distant problem. The men explained their perceived immunity to ageism in terms of their youthful attitudes and active lifestyles. The men identified three groups who they considered to be particularly vulnerable to age-based discrimination, namely women, older workers and frail elders residing in institutions. At the same time, the majority of the participants had internalised a variety of ageist and sexist stereotypes. Indeed, the men assumed that later life was inevitably a time of physical decline and dependence, and accepted as fact that older adults were grumpy, poor drivers, unable to learn new technologies and, in the case of older women, sexually unattractive. In this way, a tension existed between the men's assertion that ageism did not affect their lives and their own internalisation of ageist stereotypes. The authors consider our findings in relation to the theorising about ageism and hegemonic masculinity. (Edited publisher abstract)
‘No matter what I did I would still end up in the same position’: age as a factor defining older women’s experience of labour market participation
- Author:
- MOORE Sian
- Journal article citation:
- Work Employment and Society, 23(4), December 2009, pp.655-671.
- Publisher:
- Sage
This research considers age as a factor defining the labour market experiences of older women. It is based on 33 interviews with women aged over 50 in three UK labour markets: London, Coventry and Oxford. Drawing upon their work histories it argues that direct discrimination on the grounds of age is difficult to disentangle from discrimination by gender, race and class. Older women’s accounts of entering work in the 1960s and 1970s demonstrated early gender segregation, influenced by school, family, gender role and class, the latter largely defined by access to higher education. The women described their perceptions of the changing nature of work and the way age can both be an advantage and disadvantage within specific occupations and sectors that are already defined in terms of race and gender. Overall they perceived age as a real impediment to entry or re-entry into the labour market, to training, and to career progression. But defining this as a discrete experience was difficult. It is suggested that intersectionality (the "intersection" of multiple forms of discrimination) enables the ways that older workers are variously situated across a number of social locations at one or more points in their life course to be captured. The authors conclude that age discrimination requires a more complex approach to and understanding of the structural nature of disadvantage than can be offered by anti-discrimination legislation alone.
Sexuality, sexual health and ageing
- Author:
- GOTT Merryn
- Publisher:
- Open University Press
- Publication year:
- 2005
- Pagination:
- 176p.,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Maidenhead
This is the first book to integrate theoretical insights into sexuality, sexual health and ageing, with research findings from studies conducted with older people and the professionals that work with them. The book is split into three sections. In the first section stereotypes that typify contemporary understandings of sexuality and ageing are explored, particularly the ‘myth of asexual old age’ and the more recent stereotype of the ‘sexy oldie’. Section two identifies what we actually know about ageing and sexuality by reviewing current literature, as well as presenting findings from one of the first qualitative studies to explore sexuality from the perspective of older people themselves. The final section of the book explores what ‘sexual health’ means within the context of ageing and focuses on issues relevant to health professionals working with older people.
Equalities in mental health
- Author:
- NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH DEVELOPMENT UNIT
- Publisher:
- National Mental Health Development Unit
- Publication year:
- 2010
- Pagination:
- 9p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This fact sheet outlines some relevant facts and figures relating to inequality in mental health. It discusses race issues, age and sex discrimination, and inequalities with those with learning disabilities. It also highlights how these inequalities affect children and young people.
The 'feminine advantage': a discursive analysis of the invisibility of older women workers
- Author:
- AINSWORTH Susan
- Journal article citation:
- Gender, Work and Organization, 9(5), November 2002, pp.579-601.
- Publisher:
- Blackwell
This article discusses the overlap of gender and age identity and its implications in a specific political context - a public inquiry into the problems facing the older unemployed. The analysis shows that this 'invisibility' of female 'older worker' identity is the outcome of a central discursive struggle for recognition of older male workers as a disadvantaged group in the labour market. This 'disadvantaged' status is achieved by constructing a companion version of 'feminine advantage' in the search for employment.