inquiry + innovation
Ageism Resurgence Don’t let COVID-19 be an excuse to marginalize older Americans By Kate de Medeiros
Kate de Medeiros is the O’Toole Professor of gerontology and a research fellow at Miami University’s Scripps Gerontology Center. Her following column, lightly edited for space, was published in the May 14, 2020, Aging, COVID-19, Hastings Bioethics Forum.
Of all the “isms,” ageism is arguably the hardest to address because old age is neither a valued stage of life nor an identity that many claim. The coronavirus pandemic may have made that effort even harder. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified three groups at higher risk for contracting severe illness from the COVID-19: people age 65 or over, people living in long-term care facilities, and anyone with an underlying medical condition such as heart disease, diabetes, or liver disease. While this information is important, it may have inadvertently created a backlash of ageist practices. Consider comments on a New York Times article on how to convince your older parents to protect themselves against the virus. One reader wrote: “Well, realistically, what do they have to look forward to? What do they have to live for? Say they get sick? Most doctors won’t take Medicare patients. So, it’s bankruptcy? Try being bankrupt when you’re very old. Homelessness? Try that one on for size. Lodged in an assisted living facility, reduced to being a virtual prisoner? There are only so many games of Bingo that you can play. It’s a place where they wait to die anyway. Or, a ‘retirement’ home? Where they wait for the end. For the stroke that eviscerates them? The conoravirus quickly killing them would be doing them a favor, in
12
miamian magazine
a way. As it is, doors close in their faces because of their advanced age.” Sadly, this sort of sentiment seems to be shockingly common now. “Old” language negative, evasive, condescending How we talk about “old” — what is old, who is old, am I old — reveals attitudes about aging. The language of “old” is negative, evasive (e.g., “You’re 80 years young”), and/ or condescending (e.g., “Old people are cute”). People who don’t consider themselves to be “old” refer to “them” as a way to distance themselves. Even words like “wise” can be pejorative when indiscriminately applied to all persons in a given age range irrespective of their individual attributes. Take, for example, “senior citizen,” a marketing term of sorts. Originating in the U.S. in the late 1930s, “senior citizen” was a way to brand the new idea of the retiree as holding an honored position within society. It was really more of a ploy to convince older workers to step aside to make room for younger ones. “Senior citizen” is now a term people use to avoid saying “old” although definitions of “old” vary greatly. In the U.S., “old” might be the eligibility age for receiving Social Security retirement benefits (currently age 65). “Senior” living communities are generally open to people 50 and
