[ageism: against old and young]

The concept of ageism is not a new one. As demonstrated in [theory: liberationism], people have been breaking down assumptions surrounding age, capability and respect for a long time.  But ageism is multifaceted, and can overwhelmingly be divided into two subcategories: ageism against youth and ageism against the elderly.

[ageism: against old and young] [ageism against youth] [ageism against the elderly] [adultism = ageism] [external links]

[ageism against youth]

Ageism against youth, sometimes called adultism, is the focus of this site. It is a complex power structure where those past a government-set age of majority have cultural hegemony and are considered to have inherent and justified power over those under it. It is enforced through social institutions and attitudes as well as legal policies, and can thus be characterized as institutionalized or systematic oppression. It results in youth being given less legal rights and social status than adults, which in turn often results in youth living in less-than-ideal conditions for the preservation of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

[ageism against the elderly]

Outside of youth rights circles, this is the most common interpretation of the word “ageism.” This is because senior rights activists have gained recognition and awareness on a societal level, as well as government support. The Gray Panthers, founded in 1970, were one of the first organizations that focused on fighting ageism against the elderly (as well as pushing for other progressive social change, like peace, environmentalism and feminism) and it actually conceptualized ageism as something both youth and seniors faced and needed to change – it was initially called the Consultation of Older and Younger Adults for Social Change. It was one of the organizations the early youth rights movement affiliated itself with. However, most of the actual policy changes the Gray Panthers managed to effect were focused on senior rights.

Many senior rights policies are welfare-based like child protectionist policies. The National Senior Citizens Law Center, for example, divides its focus into health care, economic security, and federal rights:

[health care]

• the right to health insurance such as Medicare and Medicaid, and benefits for low-income or retired seniors
• the right to long-term support, such as in-home caregivers, assisted living, or nursing homes
• the right to translation and other services to assist in bridging language gaps
• the right to help fighting health disparities that occur when other minority statuses, like ethnicity or LGBT identity, intersect with age 

[economic security]

• the right to social security benefits to provide money for survival
• the right to supplemental income if social security isn't enough
• the right to compensation for disability
• the right to translation and other help fighting income disparities due to intersection of minority status
• the right to benefits for humanitarian refugees

[federal rights]

• the right to protection from any legislation that may reduce the above rights
• the right to health reform if needed
• the right to non-discrimination policies to combat societal attitudes that may hurt seniors 

Now, organizations like the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) have intense political sway and monetary power, older adults have an array of political protections for their autonomy, and mainstream society is much more aware of ageism against the elderly as a social problem that should not be perpetuated.

But it is by no means eradicated: after all, ageism against the elderly is essentially the result of social assumptions that as adults get older and less able to take care of themselves, they become less responsible and mentally capable. These attitudes lead into legal issues, like healthcare and forced retirement, and social problems, like the lack of support for older adults to lead autonomous lives in mainstream society.

[adultism = ageism]

If you look at the basic social attitudes underlying ageism against both youth and seniors, they are strikingly similar. The arguments that disenfranchise seniors of legal and social respect might even be formulated as “the elderly get less respect because they need protection and become more like children in old age.” Thus, the youth rights movement sees both as the same basic prejudice, ageism, and seeks for both anti-ageism movements to become undifferentiated. We believe that by working together, everyone who has experienced ageism will be linked in the public mind, and better able to effect social change on both ends.

[external links]

• Gray Panthers
• American Association of Retired Persons