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| Baby boomers led the cult of youth. Now we should heed the wisdom of age | Baby boomers led the cult of youth. Now we should heed the wisdom of age |
| (17 days later) | |
| My strong, handsome, 5ft tall Geordie grandmother Thomasina travelled from Newcastle to Portsmouth in the 1920s on a coal boat, raised seven children and provided bed and board to merchant seamen as lodgers, constantly washing sheets by hand and torturing them with a mangle. | My strong, handsome, 5ft tall Geordie grandmother Thomasina travelled from Newcastle to Portsmouth in the 1920s on a coal boat, raised seven children and provided bed and board to merchant seamen as lodgers, constantly washing sheets by hand and torturing them with a mangle. |
| Like many of her generation, she believed her reputation relied on keeping herself to herself and on how well her brass shone. Around 60, again, like many of her generation, she slipped into old age and died not long after. | Like many of her generation, she believed her reputation relied on keeping herself to herself and on how well her brass shone. Around 60, again, like many of her generation, she slipped into old age and died not long after. |
| Thomasina was part of a postwar generation that expected little of ageing. It was about loss – not just of income and loved ones, but a diminishing of status, dignity, respect and visibility by society as a whole. Veneration of the elderly, celebrated in some cultures, has never been much present on these islands. | Thomasina was part of a postwar generation that expected little of ageing. It was about loss – not just of income and loved ones, but a diminishing of status, dignity, respect and visibility by society as a whole. Veneration of the elderly, celebrated in some cultures, has never been much present on these islands. |
| Last week, 55 years after her death, the intolerance towards the old that is embedded in our institutions, attitudes and popular culture was called powerfully to account. Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said it was “a national scandal” that the UK is “completely and institutionally ageist”. “God alone knows why it hasn’t been challenged in the courts in the same way that instances of racism and homophobia are,” said Green, who is also chair of the International Longevity Centre. He added that the Equality and Human Rights Commission “should hang its head in shame” for not doing enough, a charge it rejected. | Last week, 55 years after her death, the intolerance towards the old that is embedded in our institutions, attitudes and popular culture was called powerfully to account. Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said it was “a national scandal” that the UK is “completely and institutionally ageist”. “God alone knows why it hasn’t been challenged in the courts in the same way that instances of racism and homophobia are,” said Green, who is also chair of the International Longevity Centre. He added that the Equality and Human Rights Commission “should hang its head in shame” for not doing enough, a charge it rejected. |
| “We need to start calling out ageism a lot more often,” said Janet Morrison, chief executive of the charity Independent Age. “We need to be a great deal angrier about it than we are…” | “We need to start calling out ageism a lot more often,” said Janet Morrison, chief executive of the charity Independent Age. “We need to be a great deal angrier about it than we are…” |
| The mystery is why aren’t we? Perhaps part of the answer lies with the baby boomers. Ageism became even more acceptable after those born between 1946 and 1964 created the idea of the teenager and life appeared to begin and end with youth. Those baby boomers are now between 55 and 73. Allegedly rebels with and without a cause, many of them are instead directing their attention to working hard at “passing” as middle aged. | The mystery is why aren’t we? Perhaps part of the answer lies with the baby boomers. Ageism became even more acceptable after those born between 1946 and 1964 created the idea of the teenager and life appeared to begin and end with youth. Those baby boomers are now between 55 and 73. Allegedly rebels with and without a cause, many of them are instead directing their attention to working hard at “passing” as middle aged. |
| Others, myself included, can’t quite believe the changes taking place as our energy declines, our muscles ache and our eyesight fades. Somehow, our Peter Pan generation never quite believed ageing could actually happen. At the same time, we seek to conceal the pleasures of growing older, in this youth-obsessed culture, for fear of revealing our age. We barely dare discuss in public the welcome release from ambition, the easier pace of paid work, the opportunities – if the resources are available and faculties in reasonable nick – to enjoy small moments of happiness that slip by in a faster-paced life. | Others, myself included, can’t quite believe the changes taking place as our energy declines, our muscles ache and our eyesight fades. Somehow, our Peter Pan generation never quite believed ageing could actually happen. At the same time, we seek to conceal the pleasures of growing older, in this youth-obsessed culture, for fear of revealing our age. We barely dare discuss in public the welcome release from ambition, the easier pace of paid work, the opportunities – if the resources are available and faculties in reasonable nick – to enjoy small moments of happiness that slip by in a faster-paced life. |
| So, for a variety of reasons, including the passive acceptance of my grandmother’s generation and the distraction of the baby boomers, the battle against ageism has never quite moved out of a gentle first gear. Hopefully, however, change is coming. Globally, the ageing challenge is clear. By 2050, a quarter of China’s population – 500 million – will be over 65. The “grey wall of China” already exists. In Japan, one in five people is over 70, many with dementia. | So, for a variety of reasons, including the passive acceptance of my grandmother’s generation and the distraction of the baby boomers, the battle against ageism has never quite moved out of a gentle first gear. Hopefully, however, change is coming. Globally, the ageing challenge is clear. By 2050, a quarter of China’s population – 500 million – will be over 65. The “grey wall of China” already exists. In Japan, one in five people is over 70, many with dementia. |
| In the UK, where one in four people will be aged 65 and over by 2040, it is shameful that almost 2 million pensioners are living in abject poverty; a million elderly people have insufficient care to maintain independence; healthcare is rationed and standards in old people’s homes (an antiquated idea in itself) are atrocious. | In the UK, where one in four people will be aged 65 and over by 2040, it is shameful that almost 2 million pensioners are living in abject poverty; a million elderly people have insufficient care to maintain independence; healthcare is rationed and standards in old people’s homes (an antiquated idea in itself) are atrocious. |
| Ageing has never been experienced so differently – there are 60-year-olds who are chronically impeded and centenarians who remain very active. But any society attuned to the needs and rights of all its citizens has an imperative to address age discrimination, including ensuring at a basic level that the furniture of life is suitable for all ages and abilities. Age consciousness means, for instance, providing benches in city streets, rural transport and print large enough to read instructions. | Ageing has never been experienced so differently – there are 60-year-olds who are chronically impeded and centenarians who remain very active. But any society attuned to the needs and rights of all its citizens has an imperative to address age discrimination, including ensuring at a basic level that the furniture of life is suitable for all ages and abilities. Age consciousness means, for instance, providing benches in city streets, rural transport and print large enough to read instructions. |
| But first comes the radical step of reframing how society views the process of ageing itself. Ageism can’t continue – it is not just “part of life”. | But first comes the radical step of reframing how society views the process of ageing itself. Ageism can’t continue – it is not just “part of life”. |
| The stereotype of an elderly person is frail and weak; what is too often overlooked is the sagacity, resilience, appetite for new experiences, wisdom and strength that come from a perspective formed through decades of life unfolding and the patience that older age can bring. | The stereotype of an elderly person is frail and weak; what is too often overlooked is the sagacity, resilience, appetite for new experiences, wisdom and strength that come from a perspective formed through decades of life unfolding and the patience that older age can bring. |
| Society is fixated on what ageing “costs” but ignores what it has to offer. Age UK, for example, could start by overhauling its website: its main message appears to be that life’s final decades are a series of negative experiences. | Society is fixated on what ageing “costs” but ignores what it has to offer. Age UK, for example, could start by overhauling its website: its main message appears to be that life’s final decades are a series of negative experiences. |
| In 1970, Simone de Beauvoir published Old Age, a howl of rage about the treatment of the elderly as alien beings, a separate species or shameful secret. She decried “the poverty of a culture that is reserved for the happy, educated few”, adding: “Society cares about the individual only in so far as he is profitable.” By profitable, she meant in wages earned. | In 1970, Simone de Beauvoir published Old Age, a howl of rage about the treatment of the elderly as alien beings, a separate species or shameful secret. She decried “the poverty of a culture that is reserved for the happy, educated few”, adding: “Society cares about the individual only in so far as he is profitable.” By profitable, she meant in wages earned. |
| Ironically, more of those aged 50-plus are staying in work because they must or because they wish to, but society can and is defining profitability in different, more civic-minded ways. In the US, for instance, where by 2035 one in three people will be over 50, ageing is being given a makeover and not by plastic surgery. Organisations such as Encore.org – “Second acts for the greater good” – urge older people to “find purpose after 50” by using their skills and talents to work with the young. If a retired doctor wants to work as a youth worker, he is given training and ongoing support. The charity quotes a Greek proverb: “A society grows great when old people plant trees under whose shade they will never sit.” | Ironically, more of those aged 50-plus are staying in work because they must or because they wish to, but society can and is defining profitability in different, more civic-minded ways. In the US, for instance, where by 2035 one in three people will be over 50, ageing is being given a makeover and not by plastic surgery. Organisations such as Encore.org – “Second acts for the greater good” – urge older people to “find purpose after 50” by using their skills and talents to work with the young. If a retired doctor wants to work as a youth worker, he is given training and ongoing support. The charity quotes a Greek proverb: “A society grows great when old people plant trees under whose shade they will never sit.” |
| Not every elderly person can give back but the fact that more could and would, given the opportunity, should reshape thinking. Young people need support, – to address mental health issues, to regain self-belief and to learn invaluable social skills – but we live in one of the most age-segregated societies in the world. The UK charity United for All Ages is campaigning for 500 intergenerational centres to be established to bring young and old together. | Not every elderly person can give back but the fact that more could and would, given the opportunity, should reshape thinking. Young people need support, – to address mental health issues, to regain self-belief and to learn invaluable social skills – but we live in one of the most age-segregated societies in the world. The UK charity United for All Ages is campaigning for 500 intergenerational centres to be established to bring young and old together. |
| Feminists, who have also been guilty of not addressing ageism and misogyny, are waking up. Gloria “This is what 80 looks like” Steinem battles on. Social activist Barbara Ehrenreich, in Natural Causes, addresses fear of death. | Feminists, who have also been guilty of not addressing ageism and misogyny, are waking up. Gloria “This is what 80 looks like” Steinem battles on. Social activist Barbara Ehrenreich, in Natural Causes, addresses fear of death. |
| In the 1980s, Wendy Chapkis wrote in Beauty Secrets that in a society divided sexually, racially and economically, how you look and what you wear signal your power – or lack of it. Wrinkles, chipmunk cheeks, necks with more creases than a Spanish fan – what writer June Arnold called evidence of being “walked on by life” – are as yet a devalued currency. So the human rights of the older person are easily binned. “We do not need to change our bodies,” Chapkis wrote. “It’s time to change the rules.” She is right. It’s time to “see” ageing beyond the surface. Only then will society value the gold that the process truly has to offer. | In the 1980s, Wendy Chapkis wrote in Beauty Secrets that in a society divided sexually, racially and economically, how you look and what you wear signal your power – or lack of it. Wrinkles, chipmunk cheeks, necks with more creases than a Spanish fan – what writer June Arnold called evidence of being “walked on by life” – are as yet a devalued currency. So the human rights of the older person are easily binned. “We do not need to change our bodies,” Chapkis wrote. “It’s time to change the rules.” She is right. It’s time to “see” ageing beyond the surface. Only then will society value the gold that the process truly has to offer. |
| • Yvonne Roberts is political writer in residence at the University of Sussex | • Yvonne Roberts is political writer in residence at the University of Sussex |
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| Dementia | Dementia |
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