Age and Life Chances
Aging is physical or biological process that all human’s beings experience
Most societies age is divided into – childhood, youth, young adulthood, middle age and old age
They have different social meanings attached to them with regard to social expectations about behaviour and lifestyle, responsibilities, independence and dependence
- Age categories are not natural but created by society = social construction
- Consequences of these constructions are that members of different groups will experience differing degrees of social status, self-esteem and prejudice = different experiences of marginalised and inequality
- Butler defines ageism as a process of negative stereotyping and discrimination against people purely on the grounds of their chronological age
- Elderly have been the main victim of this type of discrimination such as assuming all older people are the same
- Best notes that the young such as youth can be also victims of ageism too. Moral panics which negatively focus on the activities and cultural habits of young people are cited as evidence of such ageism
Laslett (1991) suggested it was better to see age in a 3 ages of life approach:
- First age = period of socialisation
- Second age = a phase of work and childbearing
- Third age = a time if independence
As life expectancy increases there might now be an argument for adding a fourth age
When looking at elderly – Milne et al (1999) study agrees with other sociologists whose research shows idea of one homogenous group masks reality = the elderly
Two distinct groups:
- Those who have just retired
- Those over 80
Being 16 old seems to be everyone over 65 and the life experiences are very different
Milne et al used the term grey power to refer to the consumption habits and patterns of those over 65
Pilcher also argued that there should be a division when discussing the young-old which stated was 65-74 and middle old was 75-84 and old old was 85+
Concept of life chances was used by max weber in relation to social class but can be usefully applied to a range of social groups including age groups
Social inequalities experienced by different age groups such as child poverty