People have to go through various stages in life from birth until they reach an old age. In past years most people have been changing their ideology to the word "old age". Elderly experience changes in some aspects of their lives for instance elderly start presenting physical changes because of the decline in the normal functioning of the body such as vision, poor mobility, hearing, and memory. Their socio-economic status also affects the individual’s way of life due to change of a salary or lack of a pension, which led to economic dependency on a relative. Elderlies also feel low self –worth due to the loss of earning power and social recognition. A large social problem is ageism the discrimination based on a person 's age, particularly seniors. Many elderlies suffer discrimination in some point of their old age. To understand a little more these aspects I had the privilege to interview my adorable neighbor. She has 75 years old. She’s a strong woman who usually doesn’t know how to express her feelings. She is most of the time in a negative mood, but she still has a smile in her face, which sometimes make her look friendly. She has white hair and many wrinkles on her face, which is a normal characteristic for her age. However, she maintains herself in a good shape because she is under a strict diet since she suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure. She was born in Guatemala and had to immigrate to US because all her daughters made their lives here. I will be sharing more details of all my findings I got while I interviewed her. I will describe some of the problems elderly’s have to pass during her old age, and how harmful is ageism in elderlies and how we as society can try to reduce it. It was shocking to discover that elders have problems with gender roles and gender-role discrimination. For example, my neighbor family consisted of six sisters and one brother. Her mom and dad always instill the idea to her that women had to be subtle to male and men have power over woman. Her sisters and her always were responsible for the chores of the house, and her brother could neither touch a plate. She also mentioned that male had more privileges than woman for instance, when she wanted to go out she had to come home early, and had to be in the company of her sisters while her brother could go any place he wanted. There wasn’t a limit time for him to get home. I also noticed social inequality in her life since she couldn’t go to school in those times because woman have to be responsible for the house, and prepare herself to become a good wife. Men have more preferences in going to school than woman. The only person who went to school in her family was her brother, who finished the second grade of elementary school. Therefore, she cannot read and write. It was good to hear about all her experiences and how those experiences shape her life in some point. She had a good relationship with her family, and I noticed that some of the roles that her family instilled in her were also present after she got marriage since her husband had the power over her, and he was the one who made the decisions in the house. Unfortunately, her husband died when she had forty years old from a heart attack. After her husband passed away, was difficult
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To reduce ageism Americans need to recognize the stereotypes they hold and work to overcome those stereotypes. American society needs more education and training about what’s ageism means and how harmful is for our elders, so we can create more techniques and strategies that could assist reduce ageism. Identifying and preventing ageism attitudes and practices should be added into the diversity programs in the schools, as well as in the workplace. Possibly more positive images of older people and of aging in the media would significantly reduce ageism in American culture. I think featuring active, healthy, productive, and successful older people in television shows, movies, and commercial advertising would change the negative perceptions many people have about aging and the
To reduce ageism Americans need to recognize the stereotypes they hold and work to overcome those stereotypes. American society needs more education and training about what’s ageism means and how harmful is for our elders, so we can create more techniques and strategies that could assist reduce ageism. Identifying and preventing ageism attitudes and practices should be added into the diversity programs in the schools, as well as in the workplace. Possibly more positive images of older people and of aging in the media would significantly reduce ageism in American culture. I think featuring active, healthy, productive, and successful older people in television shows, movies, and commercial advertising would change the negative perceptions many people have about aging and the