Anonymous asked: How do you feel about the phrase "age appropriate" when applied to a romantic partner?
I dislike the phrase in any context. Thumbs up to any romance between consenting adults.
Anonymous asked: Riding the NYC trains twice a day gets you well acquainted with Dr Zizmor's dermatology adds. Apart from typographical errors these usually contain a phrase that reads something like "Why look older than you have to? Try Dr Zizmor's anti-aging treatments today!" When you go on his website you find a list of conditions Dr Zizmor treats. Some of them are; Aging skin and face, aging neck, aging hands and sagging skin. These are next to conditions such as cysts and skin cancers. Is this ageist?
All “anti-aging” claims are ageist, because living means aging. Far better to aspire to health than youth, and to sic Dr. Zizmor on cysts, not wrinkles.
Have you seen the parody ad for plastic surgery for dogs?
Anonymous asked: Were you ageist earlier in your life?
I still am. (see April 14th question.) It’s not easy to unlearn attitudes that are woven into the fabric of American society.
lukeje asked: Kyrie Irving is a hyper-atheletic, 21 one-year-old point guard in the NBA. As part of an ad campaign with Irving, Pepsi has made a series of of videos in which they use make-up to make him look like a much older man. Irving, now in the guise of 'Uncle Drew' then goes to a pick up basketball game. After initially dottering, Uncle Drew then stops pretending and shows up all the young men on the court. Is this a lesson in not judging a book by its cover, or the ageist equivalent of blackface?
I could quibble with the “initially doddering” bit, but I think this commercial is great. unlike blackface, which is apparent to the audience, Irving’s disguise goes unrevealed and is very much a lesson in upending expectations—always a good thing.
Anonymous asked: I was making a joke about old people needing lawn mowers, and how we have bigger concerns-like bike gear.
oh, snap!
it’s a discount, not a haircut. I asked. phew!
Anonymous asked: 84-year-old Barbara Morris, the author of Put Old on Hold wrote an op-ed this week this week saying that Betty White's Off Their Rockers television show perpetuates the stereotype that "advanced age is synonymous with ditzy lunacy" and is doing them no favors. What do you think?
I find Off Their Rockers silly but far from demeaning, and an improvement over the standard depiction of olders as onlookers, whether wise or enfeebled. I have far more of an issue with “anti-aging expert” Morris’s depiction of herself as an an 81-year-old with “the vitality of a 50-year old” who can teach people to “put old on hold.” Her vitality may be remarkable but it’s that of an 81-year-old, and old age can’t be put “on hold.” We all wake up a day older.
hsiebens asked: CONTEXT: As a geriatrician and rehabilitation physician, I have developed a 3-ringed binder, the Siebens Health Care Notebook (people fill in basic health information like medical history, medications, activities, etc and keep it updated, so everything's in one place for medical visits and/or emergencies) QUESTION: A knowledgeable 60-year-old acquaintance ordered it and found the simple language and big type condescending and inappropriate. Is this reaction ageist?
full disclosure: that 60-year-old was me. even after all the thinking I’ve done, I still wanted to think that the notebook was for people much older than me. people who need really simple instructions. other people. that was ageist and I was wrong. I’ve filled it out and I’m nagging my partner until he does, and I’m adding pages for our financial info. sooner or later, it’s going to come in very handy.
Anonymous asked: Recently I have noticed in some of my interactions with women who are alot younger than me, they will call me hun, sweetie, etc. I find this to be very condescending and I am wondering why they do this. Is this ageist?
some warmhearted women who work in diners call everyone “hon.” that’s not ageist. but using sweetly belittling terms like “sweetie” and “dearie” to address olders is indeed condescending, desexualizing, and ageist, and you’re right to be rankled. professionals call it “elderspeak” and it actually shortens lives. these young women do it because they’re never thought about how it makes people feel. try gently turning the language back on them.
From Caitlin: Have you seen this Old Man meme? Maybe I’m out of touch and don’t understand the purpose of memes, but this appears to be people adding words to this guy’s picture that make him sound out of touch simply because he is older. Should this bother me so much? It feels ageist to me.
I’m sure I should hate this but it totally cracks me up.
