Stephanie Koppel

Women and Media, May 2010

A Deconstruction of Ageism

When discussing discrimination, some common terms come to mind: racism,

sexism and heterosexism, to name a few. But one topic that most people forget about is

ageism. The minute you walk into a room, you are judged instantly. Some will judge you

based on the way you dress, others may take note of your diction, some may even decide

what kind of person you are based on your hair color. But you are in charge of your attire,

your word choice and your hair, in the sense that these are all things you can change. But

your age is something you don’t have any control over and it is becoming an ever-

increasing problem.

Ageism itself is a fairly ambiguous term. Robert Butler coined the term in 1969.

He “likened discrimination against the elderly to discrimination on the basis of gender,

creed or ethnic identity.” (Smith). When it comes to ageism, people automatically think

of discrimination against older people, but what about discrimination against the young? I

always thought ageism could be used to refer to both the marginalization of the young

and the old—and it can—but it’s not very specific.

One specific term is “reverse ageism,” which is used to refer to discrimination

against youth. I think this term sounds just as ridiculous as reverse racism. If a young

person is being discriminated against because of their age, why is that “reverse”? Because

it is the opposite of the norm (usually older people are the main targets). We may not be

able to changes norms, but we can come up with more appropriate terms. Possibly the

most aggravating term is adultism which is “applied to any behavior, action, language, or
limitation placed on young people’s rights that does not afford them the respect that they

deserve as human beings. It is often predicated on the belief that, because someone is

young, they lack intelligence or ability.” I am glad this issue is being recognized, but this

term itself is so problematic. By calling it adultism, it is highlighting the fact that young

people aren’t “grown up” or adults and it also insinuates that this was a term created by

“adults” to describe a less adult group. (One and Four).

Negative stereotypes about youth contribute to the propagation of adultism. Some

of these are that young people short-tempered, inexperienced, not reliable, that they feel

like they have a sense of entitlement, that they are rebels, and that are more likely to

participate in unethical practices. They also usually need more training, which takes up

more time. However, not all sterotypes are bad. Some positive ones are that young people

like to take on challenges, they are creative, ambitious and can easily use new

technology. (Articles Base).

Let’s revist the traditional notion of ageism for a moment. The television

news industry is not just ageist—it’s what Emily Dugan dubs “sageist.” Sageism refers to

the fusion of sexism and ageism, and unsurprisingly, women are the number one targets.

It’s no secret that women shows signs of ageing sooner than men. And many men in

high-powered positions will take the first chance they get to get rid of an older woman

and replace her with either a man or with a younger woman.

“For female broadcasters, it is a truth universally, and unhappily, acknowledged: after

the first wrinkles and grey hairs they can start counting down their days before the

camera. For male colleagues, the story is different. Grey hair and craggy skin are marks

of distinction, and careers can continue to flourish.” (Dugan).

 In 2009, TV news reporter, Selina Scott, age 57, won a suit against her TV

channel after they backed out on a deal to let her fill in for a younger reporter, who was

on maternity leave. Another British reporter, 53-year-old Miriam O’Reilly, became a

victim of sageism as well. In March 2009, O’Reilly, as well as three other female

presenters over 40, were cut from BBC’s Countryfile. Before she was fired O’Reilly was

subjected to outright degradation from one of the TV directors: “You’re going to have to

be careful about those wrinkles when High Definition comes in.” (Daily Mail).

Despite the seriousness associated with broadcasting as a news medium, when it

comes down to it, it is still TV, and naturally all people on TV should be “easy on the

eyes”—and most women over 40 don’t fit this mold. But interestingly, sageism isn’t the

only problem here. In these types of cases, False Ageism is also coming into play.

(Ageism: Attitudes and Experiences of Young People, 26). Regarding the aforementioned

female broadcasters, since in O’Reilly’s case she was simply replaced by men, age isn’t

really the issue here; it was merely being used as a euphemism for sexism. Sometimes

firing or turning down someone for a job because of their age could be viewed by

employers as a “nicer” thing to say rather than ‘you don’t have a penis and that means

you’re inferior.’

Another thing I found interesting in the study was that a woman was turned down

for a beautician job because she was deemed “too young.”

"They didn't think I was right, (not) purely because of my age for the
fact that I didn't have enough experience. Maybe they thought
people would be more comfortable if it was an older person because
some ladies, if you do treatments on them, they don't like it if you're
very young, they feel a bit uneasy. I went for the interview and they
actually said 'it's not right for us at all because you're not the right age
and we're looking for someone with more experience."(Ageism: Attitudes and
Experiences of Young People, 26).
 I think it’s ironic that a young woman didn’t get a job making people beautiful.

According to the employer in order to be a “creator” or “maker” of beauty, one needs to

have experience, and older people are generally more experienced. We already have

learned that old people are “hideous,” yet they are more likely than the young to have the

skills to make someone beautiful. Maybe this could explained by the fact that the old

were once young and beautiful, so they have experienced what that means, therefore, they

should be the ultimate authorities on what determines beauty. How do we distinguish

when someone is being judged based on their age or their skills? Often times they are not

even being judged as individuals, but on stereotypes based on their age group that have

absolutely nothing to do with them.

As of 2006, age discrimination cases involving young people have rose to 11%

(Tighe). According to Sanders and Sidney poll, “IT firms and the police form are among

the worse offenders for [youth] discrimination.” But youth ageism has its critics. Ben

Williams, a corporate psychologist said: “A major flaw of this research is that it focuses

on what young job seekers and employees think rather than what employers think—and

part of being young is to feel discriminated against. That is what I’m not surprised that

people believe that if they haven’t made it by their early 30s, they never will. That age

group always feels like that. It doesn’t mean they’re right.” (Hilpern). I understand

Williams’ standpoint in that much of ageism is psychological. It’s like a disease that’s

been injected into people’s mindsets and it’s only further exacerbated by stereotypes.

A survey of 158 staff members in their twenties revealed that 52 percent felt

they’d been discrimination against because of their age. One of the workers said: “It’s

just as big a problem for young workers as it is for older. I’ve been passed over for
promotion. I was told that although I was perfectly capable of doing the job [they] needed

someone who was a little older. If that’s not age discrimination, I don’t know what is.”

(Birmingham Post).

But many argue that discrimination against older people is the more pressing

issue, as one of the participants in this study said:

“’Ageism can be more harmful the other way round because at least
when you're young you can have a certain amount of adaptability. If
you're 50 and you feel you're not going to get anywhere you haven't
got a choice. It's stay in this job that you're miserable in or have your
house repossessed. They need to concentrate on ageism but I
wouldn't say so much for our age group.’
(Group 8: Female recent graduates looking for/in first job,
Norwich)”
(Ageism: Attitudes and Experiences of Young People, 34).

“More than a third of the workforce is over 45, while falling birth rates have

meant a shortage of younger people. So older people are a vital component of the

workforce but at the same time, if you do not hire younger people you will soon run out

of talent to grow your business.” (Renshaw).

But traditional ageism is not just about the wrinkles. If someone doesn’t look

young, they’re shut out because they don’t “think young.” TV writers like Austin

Kalish, a man in his 80s who used to write for “All in The Family” and “Good

Times” is just one of the many screenwriters facing this problem, since he’s double

the age of what seems to be the cut off age for writers: 40. (The Free Library).

I originally assumed that youth ageism would be more prevalent in the show

business world, but it is actually happening across a multitude of fields, including the

corporate, publishing and broadcasting spheres. No matter what profession one goes into,

we are always constantly auditioning—auditioning for a role to play a certain part, and
age is just one of the factors that comes into play. Some say there need to be more

positive images of older people in media to combat ageism. As for youth discrimination,

similarly to the concept of gender bilingualism, I think there needs to be some sort of age

bilingualism. Employers and employees should be experts in the differences between age

groups and encourage them to learn from one another and their differences instead of

driving them apart.

 Works Cited
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