Blog archive
June 2023
Bridget Brewster Discovers Village Benefits
06/04/2023
Rumor of Humor #16
06/04/2023
Communications Project with Cal State LA
06/02/2023
Creative Aging
06/01/2023
May 2023
One Villager's Story
05/31/2023
Pasadena Area Liberal Arts Center
05/31/2023
Pasadena Village Responds to Rainbow Flag Burning at Pasadena Buddhist Temple
05/31/2023
Plan Ahead - And Be Prepared
05/31/2023
Tuesday, May 23 Pasadena Celebrated Older Americans
05/31/2023
Reparations, Social Justice Activity
05/24/2023
Rumor of Humor #14
05/19/2023
Rumor of Humor #13
05/12/2023
Issue #12
05/09/2023
Science Monday - Review of Meeting on April 10, 2023
05/09/2023
Conversations Re African American Artists Before 1920
05/08/2023
Beyond the Village – Suzi and Phil Hoge
05/01/2023
Congratulations Wayne April! Honored at UNH
05/01/2023
Table Topics
05/01/2023
Volunteer Appreciation at the Village
05/01/2023
“ACCIDENTAL HOST—The Story of Rat Lungworm Disease”
05/01/2023
April 2023
Jumbo Joy
04/24/2023
Pasadenans Recent Experience With Racism
04/23/2023
Recent Events Reflecting Racism
04/23/2023
Fig and Goat Cheese Bruschetta
04/18/2023
Photography for Social Justice
04/11/2023
Issue #8
04/07/2023
BEYOND THE VILLAGE - Catherine Deely
04/06/2023
Creative Writing in Older Adults
04/06/2023
Gifts of Love
04/06/2023
March 2023
Issue #7
03/31/2023
Issue #6
03/26/2023
Great Decisions update
03/14/2023
Dominion Lawsuit, South Africa and 710 Stub
03/08/2023
February 2023
2023 DEI Progress
02/27/2023
BEYOND THE VILLAGE - Doug Colliflower
02/26/2023
CONVERSATIONS WITH ART
02/26/2023
GREAT DECISIONS
02/26/2023
OLDER ADULTS RESOURCE FAIR
02/26/2023
The Important, Influential Books in our Lives - Revisited
02/26/2023
History, Resolution of the 710 Freeway
02/19/2023
Eminent Domain, 710 Highway
02/13/2023
Bernard Garrett, 710 Freeway
02/06/2023
Men's Times Gatherings
02/03/2023
January 2023
Pasadena's Senior Commission
01/30/2023
BEYOND THE VILLAGE - JIM HENDRICK
01/27/2023
GRATITUDE - IT'S GOOD FOR YOU!
01/27/2023
JEFF GUTSTADT - FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST
01/27/2023
Bernard Garrett, Incredible Black Entrepreneur
01/17/2023
What is the "Spirit Talk" Group About?
01/16/2023
Same Ol’ New Year, Brand New Me
01/12/2023
Review of 2022, Consideration of 2023
01/06/2023
BEYOND THE VILLAGE - PATTI LA MARR
01/03/2023
FROM THE CHAIR
01/03/2023
WALK WITH EASE
01/03/2023
DISRUPT AGEISM
By Blog MasterPosted: 10/28/2021
DISRUPT AGEISM
At the recent national Village to Village annual conference, Dr. Tracey Gendron presented a workshop titled “DISRUPT AGEISM”. Dr. Gendron is the Chair of the Department of Gerontology at the Virginia Commonwealth University and she has explored issues of ageism for the past 15 years.
The Pasadena Village disrupts ageism. Our members understand that interdependence makes it possible for them to fully participate in life. Educational programs prepare them to understand and be prepared to take action to protect their finances, maintain their health, and enlist support when needed. Affinity Groupsprovide ample opportunity to continue to learn and participate in activities that stimulate their minds and build new, supportive relationships. As our members go about their lives, in the community, they are examples of aging – not ageism.
Dr. Gendron pointed out that many people think of workplace discrimination when they first think of ageism. And it is true that older people face many forms of discrimination in the workplace. But ageism is much more than that. Ageism is expressed in different ways.
• It is internal – it affects how we feel about ourselves
• It is external – we face it daily in messages we receive
• It is relational – it affects how and what we communicate about our age.
Ageism is broad and complex. It is everywhere, but at the same time hard to see because it has become so normalized.
We often are told that aging is a public health crisis in this country. But in reality, ageism is the crisis. Dr. Gendron pointed out that decades of research show that negative attitudes about one’s own aging leads to poor health outcomes. In fact, research has shown that people who internalize negative age stereotypes have decreased life expectancy. Those with positive views of aging live 7.5 years longer than those with negative views.
We hear a lot about “generations”. There is the Baby Boomer generation, the Millennials, Gen X, the Greatest Generation, and many more. And yet, traditionally, the concept of generation has referred to members within a family. The use of “generation” as a reference to a social group of people born during a certain time frame implies that they share a common consciousness. But this concept of generations is directly tied to ageism.
When we lump people into a group by making an arbitrary determination we end up labeling and stereotyping people. We casually declare that Boomers are a drain on resources. Millennials are narcissistic. This is not helpful for anyone, and yet our cultural definitions encourage its use.
It is certainly true that we live in a society that values youth. And we, as older adults, absorb that value and pass it on unknowingly. When we meet someone we haven’t seen in a while, we often say, “You haven’t aged a bit.” That might seem innocuous but the underlying message is that we don’t want to age. Well – there is no such thing as someone who is not aging!
And have you ever heard yourself say something like this? “There is still so much to learn, even at my age.” What’s wrong with this statement? It implies that learning is outside the normal condition of being older. It implies that at some point older people stop learning. This is part of the pervasive reach of Ageism which has negative impacts on how we think, how we feel, and how we talk about aging.
As older adults we are also guilty of age shaming. How often have we said to a young person, “You’re too young to understand.”? How do we know that is true? This diminishes the life experience of another person and reinforces the gaps between ages.
Dr. Gendron closed her presentation with examples of how Ageism harms everyone in different ways.
• Masculinity – males are seen as the family provider, vitality is prized, being in charge is the “proper role.” There is a huge market playing on men’s perceived “loss” of virility.
• Femininity – women are hyper-visible (for their physical appearance) and invisible at the same time.
• Racism – people of color suffer from longevity inequity as a result of cumulative discrimination.
We need to think about being old in a different way. Aging is not decline. Aging is about living. Living is about growing. Let’s listen, and pay attention to the words we hear and the words we use when we talk about “young” and “old.” Equipped with knowledge, we can all disrupt ageism.