ABSTRACT
This chapter, we bring together the materials to discuss five take-away messages from this book related to ageism–past and present–and their potential implications for the future. These are: (1) ageism is about better or worse, not yes or no; (2) we’re all winners and losers. But mostly losers; (3) it’s all about the frame (or the ideology); (4) we need to start talking about “ageism plus”; and (5) there is more than one path forward for institutional ageism. While drawn from earlier material in this book, the five take–away messages stand on their own as examples of potential pathways for the future of ageism. That we may never eradicate ageism, but we can reduce ageism and improve conditions related to age discrimination. One of the key defining characteristics of ageism is that it is prejudice directed toward our future (or former) selves. A key aspect of ageism is framing or ideology.
