Håkan Jönson
Professor
We will be different! Ageism and the temporal construction of old age
Author
Summary, in English
Abstract in Undetermined
Ageism has been described as different from other forms of discrimination and paradoxical in the sense that "nonold" people discriminate against their "future selves." The argument of this article is that nonold people may uphold ideas about older people as "the other" by constructing their own future selves as "essentially different" from that of older people of the present. Using examples from care work, this article shows how nonold care providers use temporal categorizations to justify treatment that they would/will not accept for themselves. Based on a review of literature, it is argued that a temporal construction of old age and older people as existing in the past, the present, and the future has been a prominent feature of the construction of old age and older people for many decades. A cohort of "new old" has repeatedly been described as active and self-conscious, in comparison to the passive, frail, and grateful older people of the past. Although these contrasts have been used to improve images of older people, they have also served to obstruct attempts to form identities as "older people" and made it possible for nonold people to justify ageist arrangements.
Ageism has been described as different from other forms of discrimination and paradoxical in the sense that "nonold" people discriminate against their "future selves." The argument of this article is that nonold people may uphold ideas about older people as "the other" by constructing their own future selves as "essentially different" from that of older people of the present. Using examples from care work, this article shows how nonold care providers use temporal categorizations to justify treatment that they would/will not accept for themselves. Based on a review of literature, it is argued that a temporal construction of old age and older people as existing in the past, the present, and the future has been a prominent feature of the construction of old age and older people for many decades. A cohort of "new old" has repeatedly been described as active and self-conscious, in comparison to the passive, frail, and grateful older people of the past. Although these contrasts have been used to improve images of older people, they have also served to obstruct attempts to form identities as "older people" and made it possible for nonold people to justify ageist arrangements.
Department/s
- School of Social Work
Publishing year
2013
Language
English
Pages
198-204
Publication/Series
The Gerontologist
Volume
53
Issue
2
Full text
- Available as PDF - 363 kB
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Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Topic
- Gerontology, specializing in Medical and Health Sciences
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1758-5341