Age_Discrimination

Age Discrimination Age Discrimination in Employment Discrimination against the Elderly American society has been described as maintaining a stereotypic and often negative perception of older adults. This negative and/or stereotypic perception of aging and aged individuals is apparent in such areas as language, media, and humor. For example, such commonly used phrases as over the hill and an old fart denote old age as a period of impotency and incompetence. The term used to describe this stereotypic and often negative bias against older adults is ageism. Ageism can be defined as "any attitude, action, or institutional structure, which subordinates a person or group because of age or any assignment of roles in society purely on the basis of age"(Webster 25). As an ism, ageism reflects a prejudice in society against older adults. The victims of bigotry and prejudice are generally referred to as minorities. This is not because they are necessarily fewer in number, but because they are deprived of the rights and privileges of the majority (the Aged 4). Ageism, however, is different from other isms (sexism, racism etc.), for primarily two reasons. First, age classification is not static. An individual's age classification changes as one progress through life. Therefore, age classification age, discrimination, ageism, old, older, research, been, adults, society, people, younger, stereotypic, prejudice, one, life, because, aged, against, over, often, negative, individuals, however, examines, employment, classification, while, two, studies, states, sexism, senior, second, respect, rarely, positive