Dr. Kate Slevin On Old Ageism

Dr. Kate Slevin is a professor at the College of William & Mary. She is originally from Ireland and is a decorated educator of socialism. She spoke about how there is a type of persistence in the American culture. In our society, there are a lot of prejudices against older people and this actually affects everyone: no matter the race, gender, or sexuality. It might not affect the younger generation right now but if not taken control of right now it will affect us if we get to an older age. And we will then have to face it first-hand. Which is why it really affects everyone, no matter who they are or what age they are. This idea of prejudiced towards older people is referred to as Ageism. People do not find being old or getting old a positive a thing, which makes being older or …show more content…
A way this is done is by avoiding being around people their age, so they do not feel as if they are like the person in front of them. They would rather surround themselves with younger people to feel younger. A big group that views being old as a negative affect is people who at a young age were viewed as beauty queens or were reward in some form because of their beauty and youth. They try most things they can to avoid being old for as long as they can. And when comparing ageism within genders older women will face it more strongly. Ageism and sexism intersect with one and another. With the fact that women face more challenges than older men. Women from even a young age will try to prevent themselves from aging with creams and other products. Women in their 20’s will worry about wrinkles and worry about looking older, especially affluent women. Affluent women will spend more money on products like these or surgeries because they have the means to. Also, another way older have challenges can be seen in beauty stores older women are more likely to be ignored if there are younger customers