post-modern theories on explaining age inequalities

Question 1

what type of theory is post modernism not? what does this lead to?

Answer 1

• a macro theory

- so, the many micro studies don’t reach 1 conclusion in explaining age inequality

Question 2

what do discussions on inequality faced by youth blame?

Answer 2

• the media for making a youth culture, thus agreeing with Stan Cohen’s work on ‘folk devils’

Question 3

who focuses on youth being a non-homogenous group? summarise their study?

Answer 3

• Polemus
• says youth = non-h group that’s shopping at the supermarket of style
• because of this, there’s no single post-modernist explanation for the inequality, but there are lots of micro studies investigating .

Question 4

what do some pm’s see old age as being?

Answer 4

a positive time of life

Question 5

what is some pm’s critique on social research on ageing ? what do they look at to subvert this negative view?

Answer 5

• it ignores changes in the contemporary UK

- although research shows with age people become more invisible, looking at consumer culture shows otherwise

Question 6

in consumer culture, what shows that stereotypes may be changing?

Answer 6

• advertising acronyms
• e.g. SKIER (spending kids’ inheritance)
• e.g. GRUMPY (grown up urban professionals)

Question 7

in consumer culture, what is considered to be strong and what are advertisers focusing on?

Answer 7

• the grey pound

- so advertisers are focusing on getting that money

Question 8

who researched early retirement and what did they find?

Answer 8

• postmodernists Laczko and Phillipson

- that inequality faced by some old ppl was due to wealth and not ageing itself

Question 9

what idea did Laczko and Phillipson’s work lead to?

Answer 9

• that traditional explanations of age inequality focus too much on imaginary boundaries of age

Question 10

what shows that retirement can be a positive experience?

Answer 10

• discussions of the decision of many who are wealthy enough to retire early

Question 11

who discusses the idea of positive ageing? summarise this study!

Answer 11

• Blaikie

- positive ageing agrees with the idea of a 4th age filled with active but leisure-based pursuits

Question 12

explain the idea of the mask of old age as an explanation of age inequality?

Answer 12

• ageing is like wearing a mask; you feel one thing on the inside but show something else on the outside
• this suggests that age inequality is more to do with labelling than actual ageing

Question 13

who gives an account of ageing being a mask? who recorded this statement?

Answer 13

• author J.B Priestley
• said for him, ageing was like someone kidnapped him and made him old but despite appearance, he still had the same thoughts as when he was younger
• Powell

Question 14

what do some people fight ageing with?

Answer 14

• new technology

- cosmetic surgery

Question 15

who wrote about people using new tech and cosmetic surgery to continually recreate themselves?

Answer 15

• Powell and Biggs

Question 16

why is it hard to tell if ageism is based on the mask?

Answer 16

• because those who can afford to recreate themselves may suffer less ageism due to other factors, like wealth and not their age

Question 17

how do pm’s link globalisation to age inequality?

Answer 17

as Britain becomes more multi-cultural , ageism changes

Question 18

what does it mean if a culture is a gerontocracy? give an example, and how does this affect age inequality?

Answer 18

• where instead of elderly being marginalised, their age brings them status
• Kenya, so elderly’s experience there is different to that of old ppl in UK
• might mean that age inequality’s cause is largely on culture

Question 19

what does the contrasting high status of kids in the uk and not in other countries show?

Answer 19

• its not chronological age that causes inequality for some, but the norms and values within that society, such as retirement age

Question 20

what are 3 conclusions of explanations on age inequality from everyone?

Answer 20

• some believe that age can result in inequality that’s a social construction based on labelling and undeserved
• some believe that inequality is related to what someone can offer to society
• the idea of homogenous age groups all given the same high or low status clearly ignores differences related to C,G,E