Ageing, Ageism and Anti-Ageism

The notion of "ageism" is becoming increasingly familiar, both in everyday usage and in academic and professional contexts. ¹ This shift in what we can think of as contemporary discourses of ageing and the lifespan reflects the West's late awakening to moral and political considerations centring on older people. But attributions that social practices (including forms of talk), socio-structural arrangements, or social policies are "ageist" do not seem to be based on entirely consistent moral and political assumptions. Some inconsistency of this sort may be normative for public accounts of discrimination and disadvantage. The wide diversity of circumstances, of needs and opportunities, and not least of ages, among so-called "elderly people" makes it inappropriate to appeal to "ageism" as an undifferentiated and grandiose moral assessment. Ageism in a variety of forms is certainly rife, but this assessment clearly does not relate to a uniform and circumscribed set of moral criteria which apply across all social contexts. On the other hand, there is an urgent need to recognise the many arenas and processes of prejudice and disadvantage that do threaten the self-esteem and quality of life of many older people. And discourses that witness and promote awareness of "ageism" are potentially very powerful agents of social policy formation and of social change.