Dimensions of Inequality: Age theorists

Question 1

Consumer culture

Answer 1

Refers to a culture focused on the purchase and consumption of goods, greatly influencing values and the social status of its members.

Question 2

Andrew Blaikie

Answer 2

Postmodernism, which concentrates on the image of retirement, arguing that attitudes of retirement have changed dramatically, partially due to the development of consumer culture. While Marketing in the media emphasise youthful vitality, they also stress the importance of trying to retain youthfulness into later life through products and services.

Question 3

The Household Expenditure By Age of Household Reference Person, Uk, 2007

Answer 3

65 to 74 year olds percentage of total expenditure to be greatest for recreation and culture.

Question 4

Androcentric

Answer 4

The centring of men being normal, and so female health deviates from the male image, therefore depicting it as abnormal.

Question 6

Gannon

Answer 6

Uses the example of the menopause as a means of increasing male power through labelling it as a disease, rendering women over the age of 50 as sick and in need of medical intervention, reinforcing their inferior status. Gannon says “women are ignored and characterised as deviant” through female hormones being labelled as a problem during menstruation.

Question 7

Infantalisation

Answer 7

Infantilisation refers to an adult being treated like a child, despite their mental, physical and social well being suggesting this treatment is not required.

Question 8

Hockey and James

Answer 8

Elderly people may be described as entering their “second childhood”, with stereotypes of elderly women being seen as “little old ladies”, referencing passivity and powerlessness, comparable to an infant.

Question 9

Hockey and James

Answer 9

The elderly are made to appear childlike, and as a result loose their status of full personhood, both childhood and old age are social constructs, yet they are linked to a common the,e of dependency despite them being more independent than society allows them to be.

Question 10

Ageism

Answer 10

Refers to prejudices and discrimination based on age.

Question 11

Foot and Harrison

Answer 11

Argue through there study that older people faces bias in access to cancer treatment and were more likely to be under treated. They found that older people were more likely to die of cancer, not only due to their age but because they received limited investigation and late diagnosis.