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Ageism + Postmodernity - Topic 4 - Coggle Diagram
Ageism + Postmodernity - Topic 4
caused by improvement in diet, education, public services, technology and lifestyles.
Effects of Aging Population
Pressure on public services
: Older people consume a large part of public services.
One-person pensioner households
: Increased number of pensioners living alone, especially with how men die earlier than women.
Dependency ratio
: The working age group has to provide for the growing dependency ratio through taxes, creating a burden.
Ageism
: Negative stereotyping based on their age i.e discrimination in employment, unfair treatment in healthcare.
Modern Society and Old Age
Ageism is a result of structured dependency.
The elderly are excluded from paid work, leaving them economically dependent on their families or state.
Elderly people are at no use for capitalism due to retirement making them unproductive.
This makes the state unwilling to support them adequately, so the family (especially women) supports them.
The old are excluded from a role in the labour force and made dependent and powerless.
Postmodern Society and Old Age
The fixed, orderly stages in life course have become more blurred.
People can now define themselves by what they consume rather than their age.
Age doesn't determine how people live.
This is evident in the growing market revolving around 'body maintenance' by growing to the gym, buying cosmetics in surgery, makeup and anti-ageing products.
These trends break down ageist stereotypes found in postmodern society due to:
The Centrality of The Media
- Media images portray positive lifestyles of the elderly.
The Emphasis on Surface Features
- The body becomes a surface that we can write our own identities.
AO3
Older people do face discrimination that limits their choices (Age Concern 2004 found 29% reported facing age discrimination)
Inequality Among the Old - Pilcher
Class
The MC have better occupational pensions and greater savings from higher salaries.
Poorer elderly have a shorter life expectancy and suffer more infirmity (maintaining a youthful identity)
Gender
Women's earnings are lower and career breaks mean smaller pensions.
Women are also subject to sexism and age stereotyping.
There are different experiences based on class and gender that are related to a person's previous occupational position.
AO3
Postmodernists ignore the importance of inequalities that are related to the structure of wider society as they play a huge role in influencing old age. Sometimes it can restrict freedoms in their consumption.
Policy Implications
Social policies will need to change to tackle new problems from an ageing population.
Financial
: Financing a longer period of old age, this can be done through paying more taxes, working for longer.
Housing
: Encouraging older people to 'trade down' into smaller accomodation as it would improve their standard of living and allow housing for younger people.
The policies need a cultural change in attitudes towards old age as it's a social construct e.g. deciding what age is old enough to retire.