Why do we never talk about Ageism?

What follows is a short essay on Ageism in society. Because it is a little longer than a normal post, it will be truncated part way down on the home page. Please click the "Read More" button at the bottom to read the full article. Also I have no idea why the font changes. Please bear with it...

In our modern social world, we always concern ourselves with issues of sexism or racism or disability discrimination, sexual orientation discrimination- even income discrimination- but it seems there is almost never any attention paid to age.

Ageism is the most prolific kind of discrimination, period. I am hard pressed to think of a time in history when this was not the case. Most cultures have it hard wired into themselves to be ageist, that is, the treatment of someone of a certain age differently than someone of another age. Particularly in East Asian cultures, the elderly are revered at the expense of the young; in some other cultures the old are discarded as invaluable and a strain on society.

But the reality is, ageism is more important than ANY OTHER KIND OF DISCRIMINATION, mostly because it is so ingrained into the fabric of our society that it is never challenged and we never seem to talk about it. So let’s talk about it!

Now I understand that Ageism goes multiple ways, but I think there is a substantial argument that the main disadvantaged group with regard to age discrimination is those of young age. This is not to diminish the ageist struggles of the elderly, but I feel that young person discrimination is more often ignored. I write from the standpoint of a young person, so I can only argue what I know and have experienced.

Let’s start off with the basics.

It can be argued that some consideration should be given to age. There are three basic arguments which need to be understood when addressing the issue of ageism. They are as follows:

1)      Physical Development/Special Needs: This argument is essentially sound. It acknowledges that humans of different levels of development need certain things, and that this can, for their own protection, infringe what would otherwise act as their rights. This is similar to creating separate sports teams for women and for men. Or making special accommodations for a pregnant woman. This recognizes common physical attributes beyond the control of the individual. For example, a toddler is not developed in the same way as an adult; and a toddler can't be expected to understand moral action or to know how best to protect him or herself. This results in the toddler not being afforded the same rights as an adult, like voting, for example. The same can be said for the elderly, although many rights remain intact far beyond the stage of second infancy (senility). Still, special consideration is given to the elderly with regard to their physical and mental abilities, often times they are “put up” in a home for their care. But the elderly still can vote, or run for office, so while we draw a line in the sand at 18 years of age for children, we do little of the same thing for adults.

Thus emerges a sub-question to this argument- the question of where to draw the line, exactly. 18? 16? 21? Essentially two requirements must be met by a child for that child to be considered an “adult” in theory: They have to have become socialized (comprehension of social moral systems, hierarchy systems, roles, consequences, etc) and they have to become aware of themselves as separate from their immediate family (developing independent values, separate self awareness, etc). The first requirement usually becomes fully developed between 15 and 20 in my experience. The second requirement is more varied, usually between the age of 10 and 25. Are there 13 year olds who are more “adult-like” than 23 year olds? Absolutely. But if we must choose an age where the overwhelming majority of children have “become” adults, 18 is probably as good as any, although there are reasonable arguments to be made for an ‘earlier’ number. 18 is, at least, about when most children graduate high school. Still we must remember that nothing special ‘happens’ to a child when they turn 18. Either they were already an “adult”, or they weren’t by our society’s reckoning.

2)      Basic Assumptions: This argument develops out of certain prejudiced assumptions about different age groups, and many of these basic social assumptions about age are simply not challenged. Older people are wiser than younger people, at least until they're senile. Younger people are rash and act out of ignorance and stupidity. The foundation for these assumptions is tenuous at best. Even though it is true that many young people act rashly or out of ignorance, generalizations about the group are unfair. Just as it would be unfair to call all Black people poor. Or uneducated. Are many Blacks uneducated? Yes. Should you assume that any individual African American person is uneducated simply because of this fact? No. Is Black crime rate very high? Yes. Should you assume that every African American has or is committing a crime? Absolutely not. We all have the right to be free of these kinds of generalizations, which through grouping, takes away our essential individuality. And more importantly, we have a right to be free of legislation which at its core makes these basic assumptions. More on that in a second.

A sub-argument to this section is the argument about “maturity”. This attribute is somewhat intangible except that it has to do with “experience” which is attained through, well, getting older. Remember that contrary to the “olden days” young people are no less (and often more) educated than older people, they are given and take on responsibilities that are relatable, and they face hardships that are different but no less intense. To say that a young person must be “mature” in order to be given certain rights is essentially the same as saying that a young person must “grow in age” in order to access rights (this is what our laws do). But a young person has no control over their age. No more than anyone controls the color of their skin or sex. How is the discrimination different? Look at argument #3.

3)      Entitlement: This is related to argument #2. Old people waited their turn for their rights, by working hard and “maturing” and whatnot. Therefore young people need to wait their turn too. Everyone gets a chance at their rights. This argument is patently false. There is absolutely no certainty that an 18 year old will EVER become a 35 year old. We could all die in a nuclear or biological holocaust before then. Or be a victim of an accident that disproportionately affects young people. The assumption that there is a certain future for any individual is unfair and untrue. You think the child who has a rare heart condition or born with HIV thinks it’s fair that they might never have a chance to be considered a completely equal human being under the law and in society’s eyes? Or have to wait their turn beyond the 18 year threshold?

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Arguments 2 and 3 are not convincing. The elimination of these arguments suggests the need also to eliminate any kind of age-based discrimination once “adulthood” has been established. So what am I getting at? Well, at age 18 there are still serious limits to adulthood. You can't drink, but you can be drafted. You can't rent a car but you can be given the death penalty. You can't run for office but you can vote. 

That last one is the problem I find most disturbing. There are federal laws which prevent people of a certain age from running for office and representing the constituency of their own age group! You have to be 25 to run for House of Representatives, 30 to run for Senate, and 35 to run for President. This is pure discrimination based on age. And I’ve debunked any serious argument to be made to keep this kind of law in place! And there are complaints that young people aren't engaged in elections!

But no one seems to talk about this blatant ageism. Why not? Because we've institutionalized it like racism (used to be, or is, depending on your perspective). Young people, even children, are taught that they are inferior to adults their entire lives. They have it drilled into their heads just as Blacks had it drilled into theirs in the American South or South Africa. Blacks are inferior to Whites. With persistence, many began to believe it. Women are inferior to men; they don’t need extra rights; they’re less intelligent. There were women’s groups which were rallying AGAINST the women’s rights movement. Many young people simply accept their tiered status. These analogies may be fatiguing, but they are important, because our society has recognized that not only do racism and sexism exist, but they must be addressed. We need to do the same thing about age.


Meanwhile the maturity argument continues to be invoked for the special privilege of the elderly. The elderly (65+) are the most active voting bloc in our electorate, and the system is stacked to favor them both in elections and politics, and by proximity, laws and life. But wait. Do you really think a half-senile 90 year old is more mature than most 15 year olds these days? Do you think the 90 year old is more educated? More prepared to take care of him or herself? More able to ascertain the needs of the nation and thus vote without ignorance? Not necessarily. But the 90 year old can run for office. And often can drive a car too. Without a provisional license…

And here’s the rub. The 90 year old is to be respected because of his or her maturity. Why?! Because he or she was lucky enough to have lived to the age of 90 instead of dying in a car crash at 27? Or 17!?
I’m not arguing for taking away rights of the elderly. But our ‘elders and betters’ are not better simple because they are older. There is nothing special about being old. Or middle aged. Everyone just is. If we can give a 90 year old rights, or a 45 year old, we should be able to give simple rights to an 18 year old, or an “adult” as society calls him or her.


For a moment, I’d like to return to another aspect of the question of maturity. Often I hear children and young people being told by those older than them; “you just simply don't ‘understand’, but you’ll ‘understand’ when they're older”. Personally I find this kind of social sentiment about maturity to be quite arrogant and demeaning. Our society did the same thing to "savage" humans when we were raping the American heartland of its native populations and culture. We told the natives: “You'll understand when you convert to our religion, convert to our monetary systems and philosophy. We think then you'll understand why we need to round you up and move you to Oklahoma.”

Again, I don’t make these analogies lightly. I understand that nothing can truly compare to some of the racist or culturalist sentiments of our past society, but I think one day we might look back on ageism as the same kind of outdated backward thinking that characterized these other kinds of events. We told the natives that they were so ignorant that they needed to be treated like children. Until we gave them a voice, and we finally came to understand the shortcomings of our own society. What if we gave children a voice too? What might we discover about ourselves?


Remember, not every manifestation of ageism is something that can be dealt with in changing laws. We need to change attitudes. We need to stop using age as a discriminating factor in our every day lives. We have to see past age, see past our assumptions, to the person within. Nothing a child says should be discounted just because he or she is a child; the same goes for any 'group'. But in the meantime, it's time to start a serious movement to demand lawful rights for young people. Full rights. We could start with the Inalienable Rights sadly not guaranteed by the Constitution because the constitution was unfortunately written and now maintained by age bigots. They may have had their reasons then. But there is no reason now. How about we respect all people, children included, regardless of their age? Respect all individuals, every one. And when you are ready to enter society as an adult? We truly acknowledge that adulthood. Maybe mail you a little packet that reads: “Congratulations, you’re 18! Here’s how to run for office. We want to hear your voice too.”