A clear voice, a devastating smile, a machine-gun flow: when the American Ashton Applewhite completes her TED talk in 2017, in Vancouver, Canada, the entire room rises in applause.
Three bright letters flash on the screen behind her: OLD.
Old.
Why are the first words that come to mind when we talk about old age frailty, depression, incontinence or senility?
Why do we all have a visceral fear of aging?
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This is what Ashton Applewhite wanted to know about fifteen years ago, feeling the pressure rise a notch at the dawn of his 55th birthday.
This former editorial assistant with a pungent sense of humor decided to tackle the problem head-on by documenting stereotypes and discrimination based on age.
With a manifesto book (1), a
Ted talk
with 1.7 million views, a conference at the United Nations and the creation of the Old School online resource center (oldschool.info), she is shaking up received ideas and deconstructing clichés. .
Aging is not a problem to be fixed or a disease to be cured, it is a natural and powerful process that unites us all.
Changing the perspective on aging
In a culture obsessed with youth, the one who is now 70 years old urges us to no longer stigmatize people for their age, in order to build a more peaceful and humanist society.
In 2050, 30% of the world's population will be over 60 (compared to one person in five in 2005).
Changing the outlook on aging has become more than ever a necessity.
Too old… or too young?
A 2021 United Nations report also shows that ageism (a term coined in 1969 by American gerontologist Robert Butler), which affects and discriminates at both ends of the chain, is responsible for more than 6 million cases of depression. in the world.
Ashton Applewhite invites us to make it as unacceptable as any other discrimination.
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Ashton Applewhite: “If nothing is done to challenge ageist clichés, we will continue to perpetuate them and suffer from them.
»David Levene
Miss Figaro. –
You have made ageism your battle.
What was the trigger ?
Ashton Applewhite.
–
I just realized that I was getting old, and that it worried me a lot.
As I have a nerdy side, my way of dealing with a problem is to do research.
And, there, I discovered that everything I thought I knew about aging was either wrong or not nuanced enough.
Placing preconceptions about old age is precisely what defines ageism.
Aging affects biology, economics, gender relations, literature, philosophy, whatever.
It's a fascinating subject.
What were the first received ideas that you deconstructed?
My biggest fear was ending up in a spooky nursing home.
However, I discovered that only 2.5% of Americans over 65 are in institutions.
For people aged 85 and over, we go to 9%.
Another major concern: senile dementia.
If we remove the percentage of people over 65 in retirement homes, 90% of the rest of the population is in good cognitive shape.
Even as the population ages, rates of dementia are dropping dramatically.
I also imagined depressed old people.
It turns out, according to statistical studies, that people are happiest at the beginning and at the end of their lives!
It's called the U-shaped happiness curve. I'm not saying our fears about aging aren't real, but we're not.
We live in a culture that bombards us with negative messages about aging
Ashton Applewhite
You explain that we have all internalized the idea that aging is a burden. How do you explain that ?
We live in a culture that bombards us with negative messages about aging, starting with cartoons and children's books.
We very quickly integrate three things: “Wrinkles are ugly.
Old people are incompetent.
It's sad to be old."
It continues with the absence of older people in the media, especially women.
If you look at billboards, magazines, TV shows and movies, older people are not represented in proportion to their numbers in society.
We elders can be the most “ageist” of all, because we have had a lifetime to internalize these messages.
We never think to question the underlying idea that aging is losing value as a
To be human.
If we do nothing to denounce these clichés, we will continue to perpetuate them and suffer from them.
Yet the media shows seniors in great shape, productive, inspiring, isn't this a counterpoint to the standard discourse on old age as a decline?
I don't think so, because it divides us.
Who ages the best?
Who is the most beautiful ?
In the patriarchal and capitalist world we live in, women age well being beautiful, and men age well being active.
I don't want to be relegated to a decorative object!
For men too, it is a burden to be considered according to their productivity alone.
You know, we age well by adapting.
And the problem with these “success models” is that they suggest that you never have to adapt to the fact that you are getting older.
There is a global labor shortage, so hire over 50s!
Ashton Applewhite
Anti-aging creams, miracle vitality cures, we do everything to delay the effects of ageing. Is it in vain?
To grow old is to live.
So, yes, you can look more or less fresh or wrinkled, especially if you have cosmetic surgery.
But if our goal is never to change, we will inevitably fail.
Our fear of aging is rooted in self-loathing.
We can draw a parallel with the body positive movement.
When I was 16, the fact that my thighs touched made me sick.
I looked at my body, and I hated what I saw.
However, this self-hatred is profitable, there is a whole economy based on it.
If we said, “My thighs are touching, I have wrinkles, and I'm OK with that, because that's who I am,” we'd be happier.
And a lot of industries would lose money.
It's a toxic narrative being sold to us, and it needs to be deconstructed.
Ageism is wreaking havoc in the world of work.
Those over 50 have a harder time getting job interviews, and are more likely to be fired.
What would companies have to gain from employing seniors?
Age is a criterion of diversity, like origin, gender or sexual orientation.
However, studies show that companies with the most diversity make better decisions and are more resilient.
And then, we will have to get used to the obvious: in a world where we live longer and longer, we will all have to find ways to continue to meet our needs, not only in our fifties, but also in our sixties. and more.
And, for the record, there is a global labor shortage,
In March 2021, the WHO published a specific report alerting to the harmful consequences of ageism on physical and mental health.
What are they ?
Health data is fascinating.
We know that ageism in medicine means worse treatment for older people.
Doctors spend more time with younger patients, and tend to take their concerns more seriously.
This is institutional ageism at work.
Internalized ageism also matters a lot.
A growing body of research shows that our own attitudes toward aging have a measurable effect on how our bodies function at the cellular level.
People with more positive or, say, more realistic feelings about aging walk faster, heal faster from disability, and live longer.
Seven and a half years older on average.
Ageism is the only discrimination everyone faces, young and old for that matter.
Ashton Applewhite
We have seen the expression “OK, boomer”, used by young people to criticize baby boomers. Is the generational divide more pronounced than ever?
Baby-boomers, millennials, generation X or Y, these are labels with no scientific basis.
How could a group of people born around the same time all over the world have everything in common?
This idea of generation gives age much more weight than it deserves compared to social class, which in turn shapes our experiences and our values.
The expression “OK, boomer” was used by Chlöe Swarbrick, a young parliamentarian from New Zealand.
She was responding to an older white man who mocked her concerns about climate change.
His answer wasn't the best, it's insulting and stereotypical, but it's not a big deal.
What is interesting here is that if we, the elders, want to participate in current discourses,
we must make an effort to follow what is happening in society and what matters to young people.
To have a position that makes sense in contemporary debate, you have to open up to others.
When Chlöe Swarbrick says "OK, boomer", she says, "Your point of view is irrelevant today", and I agree with her.
How to make things happen?
It all starts with awareness.
First, we need to recognize our own biases about age and aging, and note how ageism affects us.
Then, you have to meet people of all ages, set up intergenerational collaboration.
Finally, I believe in activism: creating or joining a group dedicated to age equality, consulting anti-ageism resources, sharing them.
You'll find plenty of tools and ideas at oldschool.info, my free online resource center.
Changing the culture is a big challenge, are you optimistic?
It's hard to be optimistic in the United States right now.
But I am thinking of gay and transgender rights.
Look at the huge progress we've made in a very short time.
And it has to do with sex in an extremely prudish American culture.
Ageism is the only discrimination that everyone faces, young and old for that matter.
There is a slow awareness, we are starting to talk about it in the media, campaigns are organized all over the world.
This is proof that a global movement is on the way.
(1)
This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism
, not translated into French.