Question M

Getting older in western society is not the equivalent of getting old in other areas of the world. In other cultures, getting older is a privilege where one moves up the totum pole of wisdom and comes to enjoy family and have a greater appreciation of life. In the US, it is not so. We are absolutely terrified of aging. Everywhere you look there are anti aging products being advertised, and saying “yikes she’s getting older..” is an insult. When my fiancé and I had found out we were expecting, we got a rather interesting attitude about becoming a grandparent from all of our parents. Our baby girl Noelle’s grandparents are of appropriate age, mid to late 50’s, and refuse to be called “papa, nana, grandpa, grandma” etc. They think that automatically enters them into the realm of becoming “old”.

I think that the root cause of ageism is the stigma that our society places around it. Our society does not look at the process of aging with positivity. In the eyes of our western culture, once you are old, you can no longer take care of yourself, you are no longer attractive, can no longer get a new job and are nearing death. I do not think that I am ageist. I think that I actually enjoy ageing and embrace the abundance of new information learned and the new experiences. I respect my elders, and appreciate what they have to say on their own personal experiences and knowledge. This particular “ism” I feel is seldom discussed, but I do believe that it is absolutely everywhere: in every TV show, movie and advertisement. I think many Americans actually avoid the conversation themselves because it is an uncomfortable subject. Many people do not want to face the facts that life is short, and that they are getting older whether the issue is discussed or not.