ABSTRACT
Old age is a stage in the life cycle about which there are numerous stereotypes. It is commonly believed by the rest of society that the elderly live a socially isolated existence, beset with health problems and experiencing considerable emotional stress. Another popular stereotype is that the elderly population constitute a homogeneous social group. Typically older people are perceived, by both the general public and many social researchers, as all being alike. Part of the reason for this assumed homogeneity is the use of the all pervading blanket term “the elderly”. By convention the elderly population in Britain is usually defined as that fraction of the total population entitled to the state retirement pension; 60 years for women and 65 years for men. This broad phase of the life cycle covers an age range of up to 30 years and more. Few social researchers would combine the 20-49 year olds in a single social category. Yet this is what many do unthinkingly when they use the term “the elderly”. Recently social gerontologists have started to deconstruct the single social category “the old” into categories defined in terms of age, household composition, ethnic origin and gender. One of the most popular divisions has been to distinguish between the “young” elderly, those aged between 65-74 years and the “old” elderly, those aged 75 years and over. Additionally researchers have also started to explore more fully gender and ethnic minority differences and the experience of ageing.
