{"id":2905,"date":"2018-01-10T11:08:17","date_gmt":"2018-01-10T16:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.silvercentury.org\/?p=2905"},"modified":"2018-03-23T08:45:20","modified_gmt":"2018-03-23T12:45:20","slug":"how-to-challenge-ageist-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/2018\/01\/how-to-challenge-ageist-language\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Challenge Ageist Language"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this article, Princeton, NJ, writer Pat Summers takes on ageist language. She suggests that people of all ages learn to use age-neutral words because labels like \u201csenior,\u201d \u201celderly\u201d and \u201cretiree\u201d can offend\u2014and harm\u2014those who are over 55. Summers\u2019 article appeared in the <\/em>Princeton Packet on October 14, 2009, and was posted for a time on the SCF website. In case you missed it, we\u2019ve brought it back because so little has changed. The points it makes are still valid. And vital. The article is reprinted with permission from Pat Summers and the <\/i>Princeton Packet.<\/p>\n

For people sensitive to words and the connection of words, beliefs and behaviors, the last linguistic battle was probably against sexism in language\u2014the so-called \u201cgeneric he,\u201d the misuse of \u201cgirl,\u201d the exclusionary words like \u201cchairman\u201d and \u201cstatesman,\u201d the rise of \u201cMs.\u201d as a title.<\/p>\n

Now a possibly overdue word war is shaping up, and many of those who fought against sexist language may have reached the right age for this one. It\u2019s ageism in language.<\/p>\n

Ageist words? Yes. First, consider the definition of ageism: \u201cideas, attitudes, beliefs and practices on the part of individuals that are biased against persons or groups based on their age.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then consider the prevalence of such words as \u201csenior, \u201csenior citizen,\u201d \u201celderly,\u201d \u201cretiree\u201d and even \u201cgrandmotherly.\u201d From the time you turn 50-something, would you be content to be described by such words?<\/p>\n

What\u2019s in a name? If it\u2019s \u201csenior\u201d or \u201csenior citizen,\u201d there could, in fact, be marked resentment.<\/p>\n

To those who are 54 or under, \u201csenior citizen\u201d seems like a perfectly neutral term, but to those over 55, it\u2019s offensive. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Because those words and others used to address or describe older people can offend, a savvy little booklet<\/u><\/a>  advises using alternative words. Described as a guide for journalism, entertainment and advertising, it\u2019s a 50-page consciousness raiser for people of all ages. Media Takes: On Aging<\/em>, a joint project of the International Longevity Center-USA and Aging Services of California, crystallizes what those who are sensitive to words may only have wondered about\u2014or smarted at\u2014until now.<\/p>\n

It reports that despite today\u2019s heightened sensibilities and belief in diversity, the majority of older persons have experienced ageism. And ageism can hurt. When treated and spoken to as if negative stereotypes and prejudices about aging were actually true, older people can experience diminished self-regard.<\/p>\n

According to Media Takes<\/em>, their functional health can worsen over time as a result of insults and negative images. In contrast, those with positive perceptions of aging live longer<\/u><\/a>.  Surprisingly, the booklet is not strident, as might be feared, but highly readable and hard to dispute. Of greatest possible value, it focuses on terminology, listing easily recognized ageist words and phrases as well as others that are more subtly damaging and still in use.<\/p>\n

\u201cSenior,\u201d to one journalist, \u201cconjures up dentures and discounts, decline and dysfunction.\u201d While those 54 and under consider \u201csenior citizen\u201d to be neutral, those over 55 regard it as offensive. (Similar reactions surfaced to the words \u201celderly\u201d and \u201cretiree\u201d\u2014those under 55 found them acceptable; those 55 or more did not.)<\/p>\n

A recommended alternative for individuals over 50 is \u201colder adult\u201d\u2014after all, the booklet advises, \u201cwe don\u2019t refer to people under age 50 as \u2018junior citizens.\u2019\u201d The glossary indicates that \u201colder (people, adults, individuals, Americans and so on)\u201d was seen by nearly 100 age-beat journalists as the top-choice term\u2014the more neutral and flexible, general descriptor for people in later life.<\/p>\n

How does all this go down with those who aren\u2019t journalists? Three reactions from the Princeton area follow.<\/p>\n

Liz Cohen, a social worker, believes, \u201cIt\u2019s more about respect than what we may call people,\u201d adding that intent and tone, or delivery, can make a big difference in how any words are received.<\/p>\n

Although the words \u201csenior\u201d and \u201csenior citizen\u201d don\u2019t happen to strike her as negative, she\u2019s aware that words like \u201cdear,\u201d \u201chon\u2019\u201d and \u201csweetie\u201d in medical settings can create a forced intimacy that may not be comfortable for the person addressed. In her work at Princeton Hospice, she likes to ask people how they\u2019d prefer to be addressed.<\/p>\n

We live in a culture where we fear aging and death, Ms. Cohen points out, and she wonders whether a reaction like \u201cdon\u2019t call me \u2018older\u2019 even if I am\u201d results from the speaker being an ageist or the person being spoken to not wanting to be reminded of the aging process that\u2019s affecting her or him\u2014and everyone else.<\/p>\n

Dana Liebmann, director of personal counseling at the Hun School, admits to strong negative feelings toward the phrase \u201csenior citizen.\u201d Her parents\u2014\u201cvibrant, active, older adults, period\u201d\u2014considered it demeaning. They were careful not to pigeonhole others in descriptive ways, she says. \u201cWhat would have been the purpose of describing someone by age?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Liebmann has noticed \u201ca dismissiveness\u201d toward retired people. \u201cIf you\u2019re retired, that means you don\u2019t do anything,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd it also dismisses you in the sense of maybe you haven\u2019t ever done anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

No matter how healthy or capable older individuals may be, Ms. Liebmann says, she\u2019s noticed that those in health care facilities often talk more loudly or more slowly to older patients\u2014whose hearing is fine. And they might talk to a younger family member about a parent who is right there. In short, \u201cthey reduce older people to their diagnosis.”<\/p>\n

I became aware of how often we use the term \u201csenior\u201d when we could simply say \u201cpeople.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

          –Susan W. Hoskins<\/strong><\/p>\n

Agreeing with Media Takes, she says older people\u2019s self-image and behavior can change as a result of ageism toward them. \u201cPart of how we perceive ourselves is through how others see us\u2026 If we feel degraded or not noticed or valued, it\u2019s harder to value ourselves, and we might start to say, \u2018Well, what good am I?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Liebmann says a neutral or good intent behind something that\u2019s been said isn\u2019t enough to make up for the upset it may cause. \u201cIt\u2019s not what you said, or how you may have said it\u2014it\u2019s how it\u2019s perceived.\u201d In counseling students, she advises those who have offended, however accidentally, to rethink how they might have spoken.<\/p>\n

Susan W. Hoskins, executive director of the Princeton Senior Resource Center, tells about an ah-ha! moment she had a couple years ago. Indignant about a newspaper story that seemed to portray those his age as not self-sufficient, a man of 70 mentioned it to Ms. Hoskins. Though her own impression of the piece had been neutral, she tried reading it through his eyes\u2014at which point she realized \u201cit was all about language.\u201d<\/p>\n

That man became chair of the communications committee, which, with Ms. Hoskins, worked for much of a year to revamp the center\u2019s basic brochure. \u201cI became aware of how often we use the term \u2018senior\u2019 when we could simply say \u2018people,\u2019\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n

The brochure-revision group purposely \u201cused language that was lively and active, suggesting living life to the fullest, all the way.\u201d It wasn\u2019t just eliminating the potentially negative words (\u201csenior,\u201d \u201csenior citizen,\u201d \u201celderly\u201d), but consciously using positive, forward-looking terms aimed at people who are engaged, sharing their wisdom and problem-solving skills.<\/p>\n

Is language the mirror or the leader? Ms. Hoskins asks, echoing the perennial debate about dictionaries: descriptive or prescriptive?<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the women\u2019s movement, we felt if we changed the language, the behavior would follow,\u201d she says, and \u201cnow we want to use the language to reflect the world as we\u2019d like it to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, it seems there\u2019s awareness, if not universal agreement, regarding ageist language. But even that has caused promising changes in the Media Takes: On Aging direction: a while ago, the name of PSRC\u2019s newsletter went from Senior Scene to Mature Princeton.
\nPossibly overreaching but at least in the right direction, Portland, Oregon\u2019s public transportation system offers discount rates not to \u201csenior citizens\u201d but to \u201chonored citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Freelance writer Pat Summers has written for the Philadelphia Inquirer<\/em>, the Atlantic City Press<\/em>, New Jersey Monthly<\/em>, and a number of other publications. She has taught journalism, literature and communications at college and secondary-school levels. Pat, who lives in New Jersey with her husband and two rescue cats, writes frequently about pets. She also blogs for the Animal Protection League of New Jersey and volunteers at an animal shelter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For people sensitive to words and the connection of words, beliefs and behaviors, the last linguistic battle was probably against sexism in language\u2014the so-called \u201cgeneric he,\u201d the misuse of \u201cgirl,\u201d the exclusionary words like \u201cchairman\u201d and \u201cstatesman,\u201d the rise of \u201cMs.\u201d as a title.<\/p>\n

Read more How to Challenge Ageist Language<\/span> ›<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":2908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ageism","category-issues-in-aging"],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":false,"source_text":false,"source_url":false},"wps_subtitle":"What\u2019s wrong with \u2018senior citizen\u2019 or \u2018elderly\u2019? Read on","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2905"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3880,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2905\/revisions\/3880"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}