Stereotypes Of An Elderly Person

It has always been assumed that races have a certain look; a person can always tell what a person is by their mannerisms, their speech and the overall way they carried themselves even if they looked a certain way. However, this is mainly due to stereotypes that have long plagued our society and what one “expects” someone to look like just based on the negative connotations that are associated with skin complexion. When we read certain literature, the description of the character is the first thing that we look for as it is a way for us to somewhat bond with the character and attempt to see the story through their eyes. Toni Morrison’s Recitatif explores how the author describes each character not expressing their race leaving a bit of mysery to the reader and attempts to breaks down the stereotypes that exist for each race. Through a literary analysis, the reader is able to see those stereotypical assumptions about the color of one’s skin and how they should cease to exist in any world whether it is literal or figurative.

In the movie “The Bucket List” there are two middle old men; a billionaire named Edward Cole and a car mechanic named Carter Chambers. They were both diagnosed with cancer and by fate; it lands them in the same hospital room while they were getting treatment. The men find out, if they are lucky, they’ll have a year to live; that’s when the desire to create and complete a bucket list of things they want to see and do before they die was made. The two men leave the hospital, against medical advice, and travel the world and do things they never thought they were going to do. Then in the end they realized that what they really wanted is to be close to family in their last times on this earth. You really do witness something truly majestic from being complete strangers to an incredible friendship in the end.

In today’s modern world, our mindset in fashion are all based on fantasy; new brands/branding, trends and many more. We all live in a society whereby we tends to buy things that are attractive. Even though we don’t have enough money for such items such as cloths, borrowing or lending money from others would better off the cost. In fashion, a question came to mind, what type of people are mostly portrayed especially in magazine covers?

Modern society view’s aging as a form of sickness and the elderly as persons who are closer to dying and death. This is what is often portrayed in our mass and social media. When considering issues of aging sociologists have found that more positive characteristics are often said for persons under sixty five years than for over sixty five years.

Merriam-Webster (1980) defines Ageism: any attitude, action, or institutional structure which subordinates a person or group because of age or any assignment of roles in society purely based on age; ageism reflects a prejudice in society against older adults. Discrimination towards the elderly is apparent throughout society. Society has a negative stereotype related to perceptions on aging. We live in a youth-oriented society that does not view the elderly with respect and dignity due to today’s culture and media. The emphasis that are put on ‘staying young’ are enforced on every level. From plastic surgery to every way you could think of to stay ‘young and healthy’ is everywhere you look. The outlook on growing old is a stigma. The stereotypes that are put on older people can be done subconsciously a variety of ways in our everyday life. A few of these stereotypes are: older people are lousy drivers, they are grouchy, weak and incapable. How many times have you been driving behind an elderly person and became aggravated. Or standing behind an older person checking out at a store, they are older, it takes them a little longer to do things. Or even in the ways people speak about the elderly and the negative energy that goes along with it. If you start to pay attention to it, you will start to realize how common it actually is. These characterizations allow our society to disregard the geriatric population and who they really are. There are numerous quality-of-life issues

Many studies have shown a positive link between work and well-being. Research concludes unemployed individuals show lower levels of well-being, reduction in happiness, lower income, and often destroyed self-respect and social relationships (Layard, 2004.) The older person’s importance of having employment is correlated with many aspects of their health and social relationships. It was estimated that in 2011, one out of six Canadians was an older worker, which was much higher from a decade earlier (Government of Canada, 2012). Currently, access to jobs is often limited do to mentioned ageist stereotypes. Often than not, older workers are perceived as having diminished mental and physical competence, resistant to change, unproductive, slow, difficult

Ageism simply means and is presumed that older adults are frail, weak, and disabled permeates society. This label cares negative stereotypes, such as discrimination and prejudices. Ageism exists in the workplace, certain cultures, and social classes and within health care.

At what time is it appropriate to tell an elderly loved-one that he should hang up his keys and find other alternatives to driving, is it once he turns an arbitrary age? After any accidents that occurs or once he has, been diagnosed with an ailment that can hinder his driving ability? Is it fair or ethical to take away the car keys from someone who has driven his entire life, Emily Yoffe writer at Slate attempts to figure out why there is “no personal, societal, or governmental solution for what to do about elderly drivers” (Slate). Which is a problem that needs to be answered soon since there is an “increasing number of older drivers, road traffic safety is an urgent public health issue. It is not easy for older drivers or their relatives

Social work emphasizes on helping people to better themselves, have basic human rights, and reach personal goals. Unfortunately, society has stereotypes and misconceptions about social work and what is our ultimate goal with our clients. One of the most common response I received from people when I disclose my desire of becoming a social worker is, why do you want to take children away from their parents? I am assuming they are referring to CPS and the removal of the children that happens in some cases. My response to their comments is that each case is different and that children are at times in dangerous situations with abuse and neglect and that at times removal of the child from home is the best option. It is also important for me to tell all the jobs social workers do and all of the settings a social worker can work in, but the response is always, “that’s depressing, you need to find something else.”

I really enjoyed the lecture on Ageism; it was very interesting and educational. I was surprised with the 20 True or False question on what is your aging I.Q. We do have different concept about elderly or older people, however after watching the lecture I have learned more true understanding about ageism. Ageism is when you judge people based on age. Unfortunately, I was surprised when this can be called as prejudice and stereotypes. I use to receive elderly jokes through email, which was really hilarious but didn’t think as being prejudice or stereotypes.

In todays society there is the negative stereotype that old aged people are uneducated, unhealthy, and a liability in the workforce. However this is a misconception in todays world and the reality is that these characteristics do not necessarily reflect the old aged population. According to Andrew Sixsmith, director of the Gerontology Research centre at Simon Fraser University “baby boomers are probably one of the richest and healthiest generation in human history, as well as being better educated than previous generations” (Luke, 2014). An issue that arises in this article concerning Canadians is that seniors are looking towards cosmetic surgery to make their physical appearance look better. It is stated that in this article that “this generation

Stereotyping is common in human nature, especially between low economic societies and higher economic societies. The rich and the poor are divided among one another when they need each other. “In old the white laborers are relatively weak, because all property is closely appropriated, and the capitalist class possess the means of unlimited oppression” was being used as an example of ethos, to convince the audience of the authors character, which was persuading the upper white class should be considerate on others needing property to buy. There are whites who work but do not own property and they are being shown as weak. Being able to own property puts one at a higher class and having the power to be on top which will catch more people's attention

example, the ideas of beauty are shown by media for woman include thin body have

If I was being identified by a stranger that believed in stereotypes because of my race being asian they would probably believe I was smart. They would view me as a typical asian young adult that doesn’t stand out. I view my race the most important feature out of gender, race, and etc since people would sometime say “Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Asian what’s the difference”. I’m first generation and I’m Chinese so I take offense when people would tell me what’s the difference among other Asian races. Some other labels people would assign me are being tall for an Asian and for my appearance people would often say they always see me smiling unless I’m at work my boss tell me to smile more. Since I’m always smiling people tend to trust me more

Crabbit is a Scottish word which means bad tempered, grumpy, annoyed, and irritated. The word is derived from the word crab, which has become a term also applied to someone who is ill-tempered. The author of "Crabbit Old Woman" is an unknown female who supposedly spent her last days of life in a nursing home. This likelihood is seen in the poem, as the narrator shows emotions and feelings of being misunderstood and ignored; she is a shell of the woman that she once was.