Age

Question 1

What is a life cycle versus a life course?

Answer 1

Life cycle - Set biological stages of life all people go through (childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, child-rearing, old age)

Life course (Green) - A less predictable passage through life where not everyone shares the same experiences at different life stages

Question 2

What are the five main generational stages in the UK?

Answer 2

1. Childhood - Protected by parents and the state (Aries - This identity has changed over time)
2. Adolescence - First emerged as separate stage in the 1950s (Cohen - Newspapers sensationalise the behaviour of teenagers - see Moral Panics and Folk Devils)
3. Young adulthood - Signified by public and private markers (Pilcher - Based on living with a partner, having children, having a job and maintaining the home)
4. Middle age - Changes in weight, greying hair, retirement, less socially active, midlife crisis
5. Old age - Not accorded respect or status, loneliness, poverty, poor health

Question 3

What is ageism?

Answer 3

(Johnson and Bytheway) The offensive exercise of power through reference to age. It has three main components - institutional practices, stereotypical prejudices and well-meaning assumptions.

Question 4

What are some theories about ageism?

Answer 4

Arber and Ginn - An increasing number of elderly people has led to fears about their burden on society
Bradley - Older people are seen as less suitable for employment
Sontag - There is a double standard of ageing for men and women (symbolic annihilation of older women)
Marsh and Keating - Age is a social construct and every culture attaches different meanings and values to different age groups