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Rethinking Ageism
Age and Ageing in an Ageist World
Author:
Older adults may be the world's fastest growing demographic. Yet they remain vulnerable to biases and barriers that would be intolerable if directed at others. Such an indictment puts the onus on deconstructing the idea of ageism in terms of what it means ("a riddle"), how it works ("a mystery"), why it persists ("an enigma"), and what can be done about it ("a puzzle"). Reference to ageism must go beyond the idea of a âbugâ in the system. Rather, ageism is the system, the default reality of an ageist society designed by, for, and about the young and able-bodied. Ageism also intersects with other forms of identity and inequality such as gender and race to amplify the downside of getting older and being old. Initiatives for advancing a rights-based, age-inclusive society must focus on calling out ageism as a precondition for calling in a national reset.
Augie Fleras, Ph.D. (1980), Victoria University of Wellington, NZ, is a retired professor of Sociology at the University of Waterloo. He has published extensively across the field of social inequality, including two Brill publications: A Reckoning with Racism (2023) and Canadian Multiculturalism @50 (2021).
Preface: Ageism Matters
PART 1: Ageism: The Idea
1 Ageism in the Pandemic Age: A Fraught Reality
â1 Introduction: The Pandemic of Ageism
â2 Moving the Yardsticks?
â3 Argument, Organization, and Contribution
2 Surveying Ageism: Global Perspectives, Public Perceptions
â1 Introduction: âYou Are a Waste of Spaceâ
â2 Surveying the Age-Scape: âAgeism Never Grows Oldâ
â3 Growing Older and Being Old: Diverse Narratives, Mixed Messages
3 Conceptualizing Ageism: A Riddle, a Mystery, an Enigma
â1 Introduction: Framing the Puzzle
â2 Defining Ageism
â3 Constituents of Ageism: Prejudice, Stereotypes, Discrimination
â4 Problematizing the Puzzle of Ageism
4 Intersectionalities of Age: Compounding Ageism
â1 Introduction: Ageism in Complexity
â2 Intersectionality as Lens
â3 Gender X Age/Ageing: A Gendered Ageism
â4 A Racialized Ageism/Ageing
â5 Indigeneity and Ageism
â6 Class, Status, and Ageism
â7 Homophobia and Ageism
PART 2: Ageism in Action
5 Expressing Ageism: Individual, Institutional, Societal
â1 Introduction: Different Levels, Multiple Sources, Diverse Manifestations
â2 Individual Ageisms
â3 Institutional Ageism: Structural and Systemic
â4 Societal Ageism
â5 âOut Thereâ or âIn Hereâ: Ageisms in Canada or an Ageist Canada?
6 Institutional Ageism: Workplace and Health Care
â1 Introduction: âMore Than a Glitchâ
â2 Workplace Ageism: Navigating an Ageist Work World
â3 Ageism in Healthcare
â4 Long-Term Care Homes as Total Ageist Institutions
7 Ageist Media, Media Ageism
â1 Introduction: Media Misrepresentations
â2 Misrepresenting Minorities
â3 Ageism in the Media: Media Representations of Age and Ageing
â4 Deconstructing Media Frames of the Elderly
PART 3: Beyond Ageism
8 Challenging Ageism: Rethinking Anti-Ageism
â1 Introduction: Beyond Ageism
â2 Tallying the Toll
â3 Anti-Ageism Interventions: Different Levels, Different Outcomes
â4 Toward an Inclusive Anti-Ageism Approach: Changing the Culture
9 Towards an Age-Inclusive Canada: The Reset
â1 Introduction: Beyond Ageism?
â2 Changing the Lens
â3 Shifting the Discourses
â4 A Rights-Based, Age-Inclusive Society: A Re-imagining
Index
PART 1: Ageism: The Idea
1 Ageism in the Pandemic Age: A Fraught Reality
â1 Introduction: The Pandemic of Ageism
â2 Moving the Yardsticks?
â3 Argument, Organization, and Contribution
2 Surveying Ageism: Global Perspectives, Public Perceptions
â1 Introduction: âYou Are a Waste of Spaceâ
â2 Surveying the Age-Scape: âAgeism Never Grows Oldâ
â3 Growing Older and Being Old: Diverse Narratives, Mixed Messages
3 Conceptualizing Ageism: A Riddle, a Mystery, an Enigma
â1 Introduction: Framing the Puzzle
â2 Defining Ageism
â3 Constituents of Ageism: Prejudice, Stereotypes, Discrimination
â4 Problematizing the Puzzle of Ageism
4 Intersectionalities of Age: Compounding Ageism
â1 Introduction: Ageism in Complexity
â2 Intersectionality as Lens
â3 Gender X Age/Ageing: A Gendered Ageism
â4 A Racialized Ageism/Ageing
â5 Indigeneity and Ageism
â6 Class, Status, and Ageism
â7 Homophobia and Ageism
PART 2: Ageism in Action
5 Expressing Ageism: Individual, Institutional, Societal
â1 Introduction: Different Levels, Multiple Sources, Diverse Manifestations
â2 Individual Ageisms
â3 Institutional Ageism: Structural and Systemic
â4 Societal Ageism
â5 âOut Thereâ or âIn Hereâ: Ageisms in Canada or an Ageist Canada?
6 Institutional Ageism: Workplace and Health Care
â1 Introduction: âMore Than a Glitchâ
â2 Workplace Ageism: Navigating an Ageist Work World
â3 Ageism in Healthcare
â4 Long-Term Care Homes as Total Ageist Institutions
7 Ageist Media, Media Ageism
â1 Introduction: Media Misrepresentations
â2 Misrepresenting Minorities
â3 Ageism in the Media: Media Representations of Age and Ageing
â4 Deconstructing Media Frames of the Elderly
PART 3: Beyond Ageism
8 Challenging Ageism: Rethinking Anti-Ageism
â1 Introduction: Beyond Ageism
â2 Tallying the Toll
â3 Anti-Ageism Interventions: Different Levels, Different Outcomes
â4 Toward an Inclusive Anti-Ageism Approach: Changing the Culture
9 Towards an Age-Inclusive Canada: The Reset
â1 Introduction: Beyond Ageism?
â2 Changing the Lens
â3 Shifting the Discourses
â4 A Rights-Based, Age-Inclusive Society: A Re-imagining
Index
This book is best aimed at a univesity audience at both the graduate and undergraduate level. Relevant subject areas include sociology, health studies, and courses in age and ageing.