Anonymous wrote:My question is: why are some people so ageist?

OP this is about your mother. Not about legions of older adults. Get a clue. Also, it's "older adults" not "elderly people."

Finally, you are just like your mom. You want her to have compassion, yet you have none for her.

Anonymous wrote:Elderly get more self centered as they get older, like toddlers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to be honest, I think this is one of those stupid obsessions with words when the real problem is attitudes.

The word elderly has been the clinical medical term for older humans for many many many years. Once upon a time in this society we had respect for elders, when they were called elderly. It isn’t the word that needs to change, it’s the attitudes behind ageism.

I’m sure that in 3-4 decades the proposed language changes you’ve posted links to will come to predominate. But that won’t make a bit of difference in the majority of attitudes in this society.

None of the medical professionals I work with disrespect the patients they call elderly. But plenty of folks in the wider society do, and still will when the language changes.

I’m 52 and I’ve lived through the major language changes from the 70s to today. And I’m well aware that a large number of people in our society snicker and sneer to themselves and often openly when forced to use the many genderless terms that have become the norm over the decades of my life. The attitudes haven’t changed much. Misogyny is still rampant. Changing the language doesn’t change people’s hearts.

But you’re right, I’m an arse wipe - nevermind that I’ve spent the last decade soothing elderly hospice patients as they prepare to leave this world. If I don’t call them what you want me to call them I’ve got a terrible/problematic attitude. Nevermind that I’ve never heard a single elderly person call themselves or their peers geriatric. They must be arse holes, too.

I 100% disagree, and don't think your work means that you can just ignore what gerontologists are finding and recommending. If you're working with hospice patients why wouldn't you care about gerontological research? Further, you have no idea that your colleagues don't exhibit bias to their patients. You couldn't possibly know that.

Yes, movements are slow, but why not go after change in many ways. Changing language does influence change. We have changed so many racist terms for good reason: they were harmful. Yours is such a defeatist attitude: why bother?

Resisting change leads to further ageist stereotyping.

Anonymous wrote:I have to be honest, I think this is one of those stupid obsessions with words when the real problem is attitudes.

The word elderly has been the clinical medical term for older humans for many many many years. Once upon a time in this society we had respect for elders, when they were called elderly. It isn’t the word that needs to change, it’s the attitudes behind ageism.

I’m sure that in 3-4 decades the proposed language changes you’ve posted links to will come to predominate. But that won’t make a bit of difference in the majority of attitudes in this society.

None of the medical professionals I work with disrespect the patients they call elderly. But plenty of folks in the wider society do, and still will when the language changes.

I’m 52 and I’ve lived through the major language changes from the 70s to today. And I’m well aware that a large number of people in our society snicker and sneer to themselves and often openly when forced to use the many genderless terms that have become the norm over the decades of my life. The attitudes haven’t changed much. Misogyny is still rampant. Changing the language doesn’t change people’s hearts.

But you’re right, I’m an arse wipe - nevermind that I’ve spent the last decade soothing elderly hospice patients as they prepare to leave this world. If I don’t call them what you want me to call them I’ve got a terrible/problematic attitude. Nevermind that I’ve never heard a single elderly person call themselves or their peers geriatric. They must be arse holes, too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My question is: why are some people so ageist?

OP this is about your mother. Not about legions of older adults. Get a clue. Also, it's "older adults" not "elderly people."

Finally, you are just like your mom. You want her to have compassion, yet you have none for her.

I agree with your comment about ageism insofar as OP is projecting her mother's behavior onto all elderly people.

But your admonishment about using the term elderly is inappropriate; elderly is the clinical term for anyone 65 years of age or older, 65-74 is early elderly, 74+ is late elderly. There is nothing wrong or insulting about the word elderly, it is the proper term for late stage human existence.

You are blatantly wrong.

Here's a study from the NIH showing that: "Results demonstrated that the term “elderly” was framed powerlessly, in predominantly negative (74%) stereotypical messages about older adults." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9132357/

The Gerontological Society of Aging has been actively promoting guidelines about age-inclusive language, which is fortunately being adopted: "New guidelines from the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, Associated Press and the GSA are taking guidance from Reframing Aging, and moving towards eliminating ageist language." https://publichealth.wustl.edu/age-inclusive-language-are-you-using-it-in-your-writing-and-everyday-speech/

Here's a 2011 editorial by several academics referencing how the term is ageist based on a 2000 study: "The term elderly is ageist. Ageist terms are those terms in which a stereotype is promulgated and treatment is delivered differently on the basis of age.1 " https://journals.lww.com/jgpt/fulltext/2011/10000/use_of_the_term__elderly_.1.aspx

Fine. OPs mom is geriatric.

No, I am not blatantly wrong.

I work in healthcare, with ELDERLY patients. ELDERLY is the appropriate medical clinical term for people 65 years of age and older, and it is widely utilized. I happen to work with patients seeing doctors in some of the premier healthcare centers of this nation/world.

But please, enjoy your twisted panties poster.

I find your response troubling, especially when your response to my citations is simply "twisted panties." Just because it's been used clinically, does not mean it's not harmful. I would *hope* that any clinician worth their salt would heed evolving research and practices to best serve their patients. The irony still being this thread is about treating people better when we know better, and your position does not make you exempt.

Here's a neurologist urging doctors to rethink the term: “[It – the term elderly] offers no useful information about any of this. In medicine it can evoke false ideas about the person being described as elderly in the listener’s mind, introduce unfair social biases and generalisations, and generate ill conceived policies.”

Here's another NIH study about the bias found in medicine using the term "elderly: "The objective of this study was to investigate and describe how the use of the term “elderly” contributes to bias and problems within the medical system. A systematic review of the relevant literature and history was conducted. The term “elderly” does not define age accurately and carries bias and prejudice that lead to harm through discriminatory practices, institutional prejudices, and “ageist” policies in society and medicine." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6566481/

Dr. Hekmat-Panah feels that aging is not a disease per se and this term marks out the older individuals from other patients. He writes, “Aging is not a disease, it is a progressive biological change and there may be vast differences in the health of people who are aged 65 and over. One older patient may not be able to tolerate a medical treatment because of accumulated comorbidities, but another of the same age without comorbidities may easily do so.” https://www.news-medical.net/news/20190304/The-term-elderly-must-be-avoided-in-medicine.aspx#:~:text=In%20medicine%20it%20can%20evoke,older%20individuals%20from%20other%20patients.

Anonymous wrote:My question is: why are some people so ageist?

OP this is about your mother. Not about legions of older adults. Get a clue. Also, it's "older adults" not "elderly people."

Finally, you are just like your mom. You want her to have compassion, yet you have none for her.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My question is: why are some people so ageist?

OP this is about your mother. Not about legions of older adults. Get a clue. Also, it's "older adults" not "elderly people."

Finally, you are just like your mom. You want her to have compassion, yet you have none for her.

I agree with your comment about ageism insofar as OP is projecting her mother's behavior onto all elderly people.

But your admonishment about using the term elderly is inappropriate; elderly is the clinical term for anyone 65 years of age or older, 65-74 is early elderly, 74+ is late elderly. There is nothing wrong or insulting about the word elderly, it is the proper term for late stage human existence.

You are blatantly wrong.

Here's a study from the NIH showing that: "Results demonstrated that the term “elderly” was framed powerlessly, in predominantly negative (74%) stereotypical messages about older adults." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9132357/

The Gerontological Society of Aging has been actively promoting guidelines about age-inclusive language, which is fortunately being adopted: "New guidelines from the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, Associated Press and the GSA are taking guidance from Reframing Aging, and moving towards eliminating ageist language." https://publichealth.wustl.edu/age-inclusive-language-are-you-using-it-in-your-writing-and-everyday-speech/

Here's a 2011 editorial by several academics referencing how the term is ageist based on a 2000 study: "The term elderly is ageist. Ageist terms are those terms in which a stereotype is promulgated and treatment is delivered differently on the basis of age.1 " https://journals.lww.com/jgpt/fulltext/2011/10000/use_of_the_term__elderly_.1.aspx

Fine. OPs mom is geriatric.

No, I am not blatantly wrong.

I work in healthcare, with ELDERLY patients. ELDERLY is the appropriate medical clinical term for people 65 years of age and older, and it is widely utilized. I happen to work with patients seeing doctors in some of the premier healthcare centers of this nation/world.

But please, enjoy your twisted panties poster.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My question is: why are some people so ageist?

OP this is about your mother. Not about legions of older adults. Get a clue. Also, it's "older adults" not "elderly people."

Finally, you are just like your mom. You want her to have compassion, yet you have none for her.

I agree with your comment about ageism insofar as OP is projecting her mother's behavior onto all elderly people.

But your admonishment about using the term elderly is inappropriate; elderly is the clinical term for anyone 65 years of age or older, 65-74 is early elderly, 74+ is late elderly. There is nothing wrong or insulting about the word elderly, it is the proper term for late stage human existence.

You are blatantly wrong.

Here's a study from the NIH showing that: "Results demonstrated that the term “elderly” was framed powerlessly, in predominantly negative (74%) stereotypical messages about older adults." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9132357/

The Gerontological Society of Aging has been actively promoting guidelines about age-inclusive language, which is fortunately being adopted: "New guidelines from the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, Associated Press and the GSA are taking guidance from Reframing Aging, and moving towards eliminating ageist language." https://publichealth.wustl.edu/age-inclusive-language-are-you-using-it-in-your-writing-and-everyday-speech/

Here's a 2011 editorial by several academics referencing how the term is ageist based on a 2000 study: "The term elderly is ageist. Ageist terms are those terms in which a stereotype is promulgated and treatment is delivered differently on the basis of age.1 " https://journals.lww.com/jgpt/fulltext/2011/10000/use_of_the_term__elderly_.1.aspx

Fine. OPs mom is geriatric.

Anonymous wrote:I’m at a loss with my mother. She’s in her mid-70s. I was out at the grocery store with her and we were in line when she caught the eye of one of two little boys in line behind her. The first boy carried on a short conversation with her, and then she moved on to converse with the other boy, only this caused him to have a mini-meltdown, stomping, pulling his hair and loudly screaming NO! NO! NO! at my mother. The mother of the boy simply tried to calm the boy down and ignored my mother.

In the car my mother couldn’t believe how the boy had “treated her”, and chastised the mother for not correcting him or apologizing for him. “She just let him act that way and speak to me like that!” I attempted to explain that he was likely autistic, or otherwise differently-abled, but she wasn’t having it.

Why are they so clueless about these disabilities yet claim to know everything about literally anything else?