Combating Ageism by Changing Our Language

I am an advocate for turning the notion that getting older is not such a great thing to getting older is something to look forward to.  I found this older article from the UK, "Elderly no longer acceptable word for older people", that describes the language that is used in the media is sometimes ageist and harmful.  They are saying that the word "elderly" should not be used.  Instead, using the term, "older adult" or "man" or "woman" with their age after, is more acceptable.  I would full-heartedly have to agree.

A 60-year-old is by no means elderly, as suggested by one of the people who was 65, who commented on the article.

See the article here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/4596139/Elderly-no-longer-acceptable-word-for-older-people.html

The World English Dictionary defines "elderly" as an adjective - quite old; past middle age.

Miriam-Webster Online defines "elderly" as rather old.

The real question is how does our society define "old".  Both of the above definitions refer to old, and elderly being quite or rather old.  When asked, each person will have a different opinion about what "old" means.  Some people think it's a number, other's think it's a state of mind.

I am often watching the media for signs of ageism (discriminating or prejudging people based on their age).  Our language has to change, so that we can start looking at aging in a positive light, verses a negative one.   Stereotyping people based on age, on the number of years they have been on this earth, is not fair and can cause negative impact on their lives.  Let's work on combating ageism in our communities.

Have a great day,
Angela Gentile

The Dirty Old Man in Pop Music

There is a song by a popular female artist Kesha called, Dinosaur(2010).  Although the tune is catchy, when you listen closely to the lyrics, you quickly realize that it is about a young girl that is complaining about an "old man" looking at her.  This conjures up negative feelings in me, and it perpetuates a "dirty old man" image.  I wish the younger generation would not produce songs like this because it puts old age in a negative light.  This is called, "ageism".  This is where people assume that older people do not deserve to be treated with respect and do not deserve the same privileges of the younger adult population because of their age. Ageism is harming our society, and songs like these aren't helping the situation.

Here are some of the lyrics:

Oh man, Why are you starrin' at me
Mack on me and my friends it's kinda a creepy
You should be prowling around the Old folks home
Come on dude! Leave us alone

When Kesha was discussing why she wrote this song, she said,

"Dinosaur" came "about [when] this old guy who was hitting on me, and his toupee was kind of falling off, and I was like, "Oh my God, you're so old, you're prehistoric, you're like a dinosaur. D-I-N-O-S-A-you are a dinosaur." (From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_%28Kesha_album%29)

 
Click on this link to see a music video (not the official one) of Ke$ha's Dinosaur: http://vodpod.com/watch/3578477-dinosaur-kesha-music-video.


Angela Gentile