After a long and exhausting day at work, I decide to relax and watch some television. I curl up on the couch, turn on the tv and begin to watch one of my favourite tv shows, "The Golden Girls."The show revolves around the lives of four elderly women living in Miami during the 1980s. As I am watching, I for the first time notice the four "elderly" women depicted in the show all defy the general concepts of ageing as well as ageing stereotypes. The female characters all are very healthy, fashionable, energetic, social, employed and have active love lives. This portrayal is a great contrast from the depiction of the grumpy, unhealthy, introverted and frail perceptions modern media and society associates with the elderly. This makes me wonder, …show more content…
The media has brought out the worst in human perceptions on the elderly through depictions of helpless old women and confused old men. These presented stereotypes, not only disrespect the elderly population, but paint senior citizens all with the same brush. There are nine major stereotypes associated with old age: illness, impotency, ugliness, mental decline, mental illness, uselessness, poverty and depression (Nemmers, 2005). However, it is important to remember that people age differently, and some more noticeable than others, therefore not all elderly people will fall into all or any of the nine official stereotypes. Throughout my lifetime, I have known several elderly people that have defied these nine official stereotypes. I have known women in the late eighties, who walk without assistance, look significantly younger than their actual age, are mentally sound and living with a great amount of internal happiness and fulfillment. These elderly people like the central characters of the "Golden Girls", defy society and the media's negative depiction and stereotypical image of the elderly and …show more content…
A simple definition of ageism is discrimination of an individual due to their age (Nemmers, 2005). Ageism has no social, economic, racial or gender boundaries and impacts almost everyone who is in the ageing process. Ageism like any other type of discrimination such as racism and sexism, can take many different forms such as verbal and social exclusion. Often elder abuse, a concept that affects ________ people has been widely associated with ageism. It has been argued ageism is more of a Western problem, particularly in Canada and the United States, since North American culture tends to heavily emphasize the importance of individualism and independence (Cuddy, 2005). In Canada, it seems as though there is no middle ground in terms of elderly independence. Once an elderly person requires some care, it is automatically assumed the person is no longer competent and are often moved into retirement homes or other care centres. Unlike previous generations, Canadian families tend to be unable to care for elderly relatives due to scheduling conflicts through work or their lack of interest in taking care of a loved one themselves. This then contributes to a senior's loss of responsibility, freedom and tendency to become institutionalized since they were prematurely moved out of their home (Nelson, 2005).